A Contribution to the Results of the Discussion on the "Ascending" and "Descending" Stages of Feudalism

Abstract

The dispute on the "ascending" and "descending" stages of feudalism has been one of the lengthiest of all our formal discussions. It seems that only the discussion of the social character of manufacture employing serfs was of longer duration. The discussion of the "ascending" and "descending" stages of feudalism began with an article in Voprosy istorii published in mid-1958, (1) but responses were slow in coming. The complexity of the question demanded deep research, and such research took time. Only in the following year, 1959, did three substantial articles appear — by Sakharov, (2) Golobutskii, (3) and Kuznetsov. (4)