Category:PD-Russia

Works published in the USSR prior to January 1, 1954 are in the public domain in Russia if one of the following is true:
 * 1) if the author died before January 1, 1954 and was not rehabilitated after that date;
 * 2) otherwise, if the copyright was held by an artificial person (e.g. a corporation or the state);
 * 3) otherwise, if the work was published anonymously and the author never became known.

For works by known authors who were veterans of the Great Patriotic War, the copyright term is extended by four years: a work authored by a veteran is in the public domain in Russia only if it was published before 1950 and the author died before 1950.

In the U.S., such a work is in the public domain if it was in the public domain in Russia in 1996, e.g. if it was published before 1946 by a legal entity, and no copyright was registered in the U.S. For works of known authors the critical year for the U.S. is 1942, as any author who lived 1942 - 1946 falls into the category "veretans of the Great Patriotic War": only Soviet works published before 1942 of known authors who died before 1942 are in the public domain in the U.S.

The template PD-Russia populates this category. This template should be used only for works first published in the USSR within the Russian SFSR. If it is unknown where exactly within the USSR a work was first published, PD-Russia can also be used.