Manuscripts collected by David J. Dallin consists of autobiographical essays in English and Russian by Soviet displaced persons, discussing their lives in the USSR and why they chose not to return there. There are also essays in English telling the stories of Soviet displaced persons from the point of view of another unidentified narrator. Also included is a letter dated 2 Aug. 1943 from Povilas Zadeikis, a representative of Lithuania in the United States in 1934 – 1957.

The papers consist of correspondence, manuscripts, documents, and printed materials. Correspondence includes 3 letters from Mikhaĭl Karpovich, and letters from Khmelńit︠s︡kai︠a︡'s son Sergeĭ, a writer in the Soviet Union. Among the manuscripts is Khmelńit︠s︡kai︠a︡'s autobiography, which discusses her childhood in Odessa and her education; and her translation of the letters of William Frey, a Russian immigrant in Kansas in the 1870s.