Император Александр II и Южный Урал: издан новый сборник документов архивистов Челябинской области

Abstract

The article reviews the collection of documents “Emperor Alexander II and the Southern Urals,” published in 2019 and dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the Emperor. The book tells of the Tsarevich’s journey through the Southern Urals in 1837 and of manufacture of gifts to him by the Zlatoust craftsmen; a separate part consists of documents devoted to the reign of Alexander II and the impact of the Great Reforms on the development of the region. The collection ends with documents on the perpetuation of the Emperor’s memory. The review proves that this collection of documents closes the topic of relations between Alexander II and the Southern Urals, which has been little studied in the historiography. It concludes that the initiators of the publication – employees of the Joint State Archive of the Chelyabinsk Region – have included in the book legislative acts, recordkeeping materials, materials of the periodical press, sources of personal provenance, photographs, and visual materials. There is a list of archives and museums from which the sources originate: state archives of the Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Sverdlovsk regions, the National Archive of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Archive of the Zlatoust City District; the Verkhny Ufaley and Zlatoust local history museums; the Russian State Archive of Photo Documents, the State Russian Museum; the Department for Preservation of Historical Heritage of the South Ural Railway, the Russian State Historical Archive, and the State Archive of the Russian Federation. The review describes the structure of the collection and contends that it contributes to comprehensive coverage of the studied problems. It allows its readers to find the needed documents confidently and quickly, even with minimal research skills. Photo documents (little–known photographs and drawings) included in the collection complement the text quite successfully. The reviewers underscore that the publication contains three extensive introductory articles, the reading of which contributes to a deeper understanding of the sources. Thus, the review concludes that the collection has expanded the documentary base adequately in order to spur extensive research of the pre–revolutionary history of the Southern Urals.