Legal Framework for Archival Volunteering in Russia, Statement of the Problem, 1993–2026

Scientific article

DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2026-2-424-439

For citation

Sabennikova, I. V. (2026). Legal Framework for Archival Volunteering in Russia, Statement of the Problem, 1993–2026, Herald of an Archivist, no. 2, pp. 424-439. DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2026-2-424-439

Sabennikova, I. V.

All-Russian Archival Science and Records Management Research Institute, Moscow, Russia

Legal Framework for Archival Volunteering in Russia, Statement of the Problem, 1993–2026

Abstract

The article is devoted to an important and relevant topic of volunteerism and a separate area within this activity – archival volunteerism. The volunteer movement as a global trend in the field of social policy and national culture in a significant number of European countries has a specific legislative framework. Most European countries have adopted separate legislative acts regulating this area of social activity, defining the legal status of a volunteer/volunteer organizations, distinguishing between a volunteer and an employee, volunteer work and labor relations in accordance with their own national legislation. Currently, there is no single way to regulate volunteerism, which is explained both by the diversity of volunteer initiatives and by the objectives and goals set by the national legislation of various countries in this area. Nevertheless, there is some analogy that allows us to identify three main groups of countries in terms of the way volunteerism is regulated, which is discussed in the article. At the international level, volunteerism is regulated by such international structures as the UN General Assembly and the Council of Europe. In recent years, volunteerism has been actively developing in the Russian Federation, where, since 1993, a full-fledged regulatory framework for volunteerism has been formed. Russian volunteerism is characterized by the sectoral principle of development – this is its specificity. This means that in addition to federal legislation that ensures the basic rights of volunteers, an industry regulatory framework is also needed. In a number of specialized areas of volunteerism, there are independent laws regulating, for example, in the field of culture, the types of activities of volunteers. The field of archival volunteerism remains one of the least secure in terms of the regulatory framework. When working on the article, the method of scientific analysis, historical and legal, as well as comparative methods were used. Currently, there is a need to understand the theoretical and legal framework of volunteering in connection with the spread of volunteer practices in the archival industry. The article analyzes the existing regulatory legal acts defining the rights and obligations of volunteers and volunteer organizations, norms of archival law governing aspects of legal relations affecting the issues of ensuring the safety of archival documents and access to them. The existing regulatory legal acts on volunteerism (volunteering) at the federal level, as well as the existing sectoral archival legislation, in the author's opinion, fully allow the development of norms for the legal regulation of archival volunteerism.

Keywords

Russia, civil society, volunteerism, volunteer, archive, legal foundations of Russian and international law, archival document, archival volunteerism, the institution of volunteerism in Russia.

Download the article: sabennikova_doi

References

Avdeenko, S. V. (2022). The Concept and Legal Content of Volunteer Activity in Russian Legislation, Matters of Russian and International Law, Vol. 12, no. 4A, pp. 147–152.

Arifulina, R. U., Belogorskaya, L. V. (2017). Historical and Pedagogical Analysis of the Development of Volunteer Activity in European Countries, Modern Problems of Science and Education, no. 4. URL: https://science-education.ru/ru/article/view?id=26688 (accessed: 07.04.2025).

Gorlova, N. I. (2019). Formation and Development of the Institute of Volunteering in Russia, Moscow, Institute of Heritage, 290 p.

Gorlova, N. I. (2023). Archival Volunteering in Preserving the Memory of the Past, Domestic Archives, no. 6, pp. 23–29.

Gusarova, A. Yu. (2022). At the Archives of Chuvashia, Domestic Archives, no. 6, pp. 133–137.

Komarov-Rasputin, V. M. (2023). Archival Volunteering: From the Experience of the State Archives of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra, Herald of VNIIDAD, no. 4, pp. 93–99.

Pkhitikov, R. B. (2024). Theoretical and Legal Foundations of Volunteer Activity in the Russian Federation, Law and Legislation, no. 3, pp. 88–92.

Panteleychuk, M. N. (2023). Organization of Volunteer Activity in the State Archives of the Novgorod Region, Herald of VNIIDAD, no. 4, pp. 100–107.

Ferreira, In?s M. (2023) Best practice in volunteer management in archives: analyzing two organizations, The Journal of the Archives and Records Associatio, Vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 1–18. URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/23257962.2023.2166470 (accessed: 07.04.2025).

Hadzi-Miceva, K. (2007). Comparative Analysis of the European Legal Systems and Practices Regarding Volunteering, The International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law, Vol. 9, Iss. 3, Legislation on volunteering using the example of European countries. URL: https://menta-kill.livejournal.com/190478.html (accessed: 27.03.2025).

G?ntert, S. T., et al. (2022). Organizational, Motivational and Cultural Contexts of Volunteering. IN: The European View, URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92817-9 (accessed: 10.04.2025).

Wollentz, G., Kuhlefelt, H., et al. (2024). Volunteering at Archives, a mapping of volunteer management at archives in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. URL: https://clck.ru/3GE98c.pdf (accessed: 10.04.2025).

Villiers, A., Laurent, N., Stueven, Ch. (2017). Volunteers in Australian archives, Archives and Manuscripts, July 45(2). S. 1–18. URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/01576895.2017.1326828 (accessed: 07.04.2025).

About authors

Sabennikova Irina Vyacheslavovna, Doctor of Historical Sciences, All-Russian Archival Science and Records Management Research Institute, Leading Researcher, Moscow, Russia, +7-916-316-09-23, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

ORCID 0000-0002-3682-8999

The article was received in the editorial office on 3.03.2025, recommended for publication on 20.03.2026