In 1917, the Library of Modern International Documentation was founded at Paris X University in Nanterre. Currently, its collection contains about three million items, including books, photographs, and posters. Part of the archives is dedicated to Russian history, particularly the emigration from Russia to France in the 20th century.

The library holds personal archives of some emigrants, as well as materials from the Association of Russian Students in Paris, the Association of Cossacks in France, and the Russian Academic Group in Paris. The collections include over 130,000 printed publications in Russian, not counting periodicals and archival documents.