Чекист, фронтовик, публицист: к биографии Бориса Антоновича Янковского

Abstract

The article analyzes the possibilities of personal and professional adaptation of a “man of the revolution” to the dynamic and changing conditions of the Soviet society during the first half of the 20th century. The authors reconstruct the biography of a resident of the province - Boris Antonovich Yankovsky (1903-1964), whose life path incorporated the features both typical of the era and unique. The methodological basis of the study was the anthropological approach and the synthesis of macro- and micro-history; historical-biographical and comparative-historical methods were also used in the work. The sources for the research were unpublished ego-documents (questionnaire, autobiographies and memoirs) permanently stored in the Historical Archive of Omsk Oblast and in the Archive of the Federal Security Service of Russia in Omsk Oblast. The presence of such a significant and informative array of sources about a former employee of the Soviet special services is infrequent. This circumstance, as a result, made it possible to reconstruct Yankovsky's biography in as much detail as possible and to characterize his inner world. A feature of Yankovsky's biography is that in the conditions of social cataclysms he showed professional mobility, skillfully found himself and his vocation realizing his creative writer and publicist talents, he also served in the army, in state security agencies, and worked as a journalist. Yankovsky did not hold high positions, apparently burdened by the manager post, and preferred individual activities. Wars had an undoubted influence on Yankovsky. As evidenced by the study, he was an ideological person, devoted to the Soviet system, persistent, fearless, enterprising, emotional, direct and ready for sacrifice. At the same time, even though he was twice oppressed along the party line, he was able to safely avoid repression. In conclusion, the authors emphasize that the fate of Boris Yankovsky can be called a typical example of a “grassroots” person who was able to successfully take advantage of the conditions of the Russian Revolution, which created social elevators for talented people.