Introduction. The article is devoted to the study of the formation of state records management in the Soviet era. Modernization of records management during this period is connected with the processes of creating and strengthening the Soviet state, namely, the state apparatus of government, the formation of which began after the victory of the Great Russian Revolution of 1917. Modernization of the system of Soviet records management is directly dependent on the speed of modernization of the state administration of the USSR. From the level of development of records management and the development of the regulatory framework, the effectiveness of the work of the state apparatus and individual institutions depends on the formation of a documentary base on the history of society in the form of historical written sources. Materials and Methods. The author applied a historical analysis of the development and reform of the system of records management and workflow the Soviet period. The work was carried out on a significant number of both theoretical sources and the regulatory and methodological base of documentation support for administrative activities; this made it possible to consider the development of records management in the specified period. Results. The study showed that the system of records management, being secondary to the administrative apparatus, reflected not only the level of development of managerial and office culture, but also the modernizing system of government in the country. Discussion and Conclusion. In the process of modernizing the Soviet state records management, rules for drafting and executing documents were developed, rules for the rational management of records management were developed and introduced, the principles of unification, stencilling and standardization were implemented, and methodological support of records management was perfected. The author analyzes the main events in the process of formation and development of state records management and gives a description of the legislation on records management in the Soviet era, which is reflected in government decisions, legislative acts, regulations, etc.