The Facts Speak for Themselves: the Monographic Research by T. A. Konstantinova on the History of National Archives in Eastern Transbaikalia

Abstract

In her monograph T. A. Konstantinova investigates the formation and development of archival work in Eastern Transbaikalia over the course of 100 years. The author examined step by step the working conditions, the multilateral activities of archival institutions and, first of all, the State Archives of the Trans-Baikal Territory. The factual material is new, with a few exceptions. It testifies that the period of formation of archival work in the region lasted from 1917 to 1939, and the period of its development ‒ from 1939 to 1991. The style of the study is characterized by the maximum setting for the facts to speak for themselves. They are presented with a laconic author’s accompaniment. There are only few estimates by T. A. Konstantinova. The volume context is minimal. The chapters’ titles have the context property. The first three chapters reveal the formation of archival affairs in the years when the Soviet government overcame the grave consequences of the Civil War and carried out a deep reconstruction of the country. The last three chapters reflect the development of archiving in the context of a stable state of government. The final chapter covers the period of 1991‒2018. It shows that archival work has not fallen apart together with the Soviet state. It has withstood and rebuilt in the new historical realities. The text and the Appendix of the monograph contain rich material on personalities, identified by the author on the basis of archival data.