Russian History Research Articles

The American Image of the Helmsman or Who Mister Stalin Is

This article is a response to the recently written, very interesting and innovative, book, by an American historian Jim Curtis. During 20th century, the study of the Russian history was conducted in the opposing to each other American and Soviet historiographies. However, as far as Stalinism is concerned, American scholars obviously surpassed the Soviet Union as this theme was forbidden in the latter. Curtis aims to rise above all “combats” and to study Stalinism with the help of such disciplines as media theory, linguistics, and anthropology — disciplines that scholars in America as well as in Russia have usually ignored. He also excellently knows the Russian literature. To his opinion, religious notions, particularly “monasticism”, “monastic walls”, relationship between the elder and the junior comprise a certain framework of Stalin’s consciousness. It may be true but it is not enough to explain the phenomenon of the cult of Stalin’s personality. Moreover, it is arguable whether literature could adequately reflect the history of a society, particularly, for the need of historians. We also have to be very careful when comparing the USA and Russia/USSR, because such phenomena as slavery, political system, frontier, Protestant ethics may be different in their foundation. It is also very hard to compare Stalin with many other dictators as despite their seeming similarities, their origins differ. The main merit of this book is a conviction that the Russian history is indivisible, that Soviet and post-Soviet “periods” simply continue the previous history. This approach enables to understand more in the “natural laws” of the Russian history.

The Policy of Acculturation of the Indigenous Peoples of the Southeastern and Northwestern Outskirts of the Russian Empire: a Comparative Analysis

One of the most controversial issues in Russian history is the question of the territorial growth of our state. For a long time there were two mutually exclusive approaches in historical science. The first is that the annexation of new territories was the result, for the most part, of their conquests. The second — the entry of “colonies” into the empire was generally peaceful in nature and the driving force behind this process was economic development. The article analyzes the processes of acculturation that took place on two frontiers of the Russian state: in the European North and in Central Asia. The methodological basis of the study is the concept of acculturation. The main results of the study are the comparison of these processes on the example of a comparison of two regions. It is noted that, despite the significant difference in the period of interaction between different cultures in these regions, there are a number of similarities in the processes of acculturation. Also, positive results of acculturation were revealed.

“Highly expressive manual on Russian history”: Branch projects of the Historical and Everyday life Department of the State Russian Museum (1925–1930)

In 1918–1934 the State Russian Museum included the Historical and Everyday life Department. It was a unique example of a museum of everyday life, the researchers studied by purposeful selection, exhibiting and actualization the collection, looking for a conceptual basis for their activities. The success of the work was proved by the network of branches that developed in 1925–1930 around the Department, which made it the largest museum of everyday life in the country. Which included the Sheremetevsky and Menshikovsky palaces, the Summer Palace and the house of Peter I, the estates Maryino and Gruzino, whose history has developed in different ways. There were also several projects supervised by the research staff of the Historical and Everyday life Department. The first project was aimed at creating a historical church museum based on the collections united by the “Old Petersburg” Society and then forming the basis of the Museum of the Obsolescent Cult that existed in 1923–1927. The second project involved the organization department of a military of everyday life in the State Russian Museum based on the collections of the Quartermaster, Suvorov, and regimental museums. There were also plans to organize a unified museum of the time of Peter the Great, which was supposed to be in the Menshikov or Summer Palaces. These projects could only be developed in the 1920s, when museums assumed the possibility of experimentation, and were driven by attempts to protect collections. The First All-Russian Museum Congress in 1930 officially completed the development of museums of everyday life in the country. In 1934, the Department of History and Everyday life became part of the State Museum of the Revolution, in 1937, of the State Museum of Ethnography, and in 1941 became the basis for the creation of the Department of the History of Russian Culture in the State Hermitage.

Russian History by Sergey Solovyov in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Novel The Idiot

Russian History by Sergey Solovyov in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Novel The Idiot

Рождаемость и смертность населения Удмуртии в 1930-е гг.

The aim of the study was to examine the birth rate and mortality in Udmurtia in the 1930s. To date, almost no one has studied this topic. The objectives of the study include studying the reproduction rates of the population of Udmurtia and identifying factors influencing the dynamics of changes, as well as comparing the birth rate and mortality of the population of Udmurtia and the RSFSR/USSR. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that a large volume of previously unpublished materials is introduced into scientific discourse, a significant gap in Russian history is filled. The sources were mainly unpublished materials of the natural movement of the Statistical Office and office records of the health authorities of Udmurtia. The results of the study showed that the birth rate in Udmurtia was much higher than in the European part of the Soviet Union, especially in the first half of the 1930s. The main reasons for this are the national specifics of the region (a significant part of the population is Udmurts with increased birth rates), lower educational level of women, and a higher proportion of villagers. In turn, in the village of Udmurtia, the birth rate was higher than in cities (except 1937). In the second half of the decade, the birth rate in the republic decreased, approaching the all-Union indicator. It fell due to higher rates of urbanization, the spread of abortion, the famine of 1936 due to large-scale crop failure, which was as significant as in 1932/33. The mortality rate in Udmurtia was also much higher (except for 1933) than the all-Union one. The high mortality rate of the entire population was mainly due to significant morbidity, among the main causes of death exogenous. Mortality increased sharply during the hunger years. The thencurrent level of medical care was unsatisfactory. The shortage of medical workers was acute; their qualifications often raised questions. The allocated funds were not enough for the purchase of medicines and the necessary equipment. In the second half of the 1930s, the difference in mortality rates in the USSR and Udmurtia slightly decreased. Total mortality was greatly influenced by infant mortality. Its share was extremely high and it decreased very slowly throughout the 1930s. In the first place among the causes of infant mortality were gastrointestinal diseases due to poor nutrition. In the second place were congenital weakness and premature birth. They, in turn, were explained by the difficult working conditions of women in the workplace, as well as by the high percentage of mothers with syphilis, which was almost never detected or treated during pregnancy. In the third place were lung diseases caused by crowding and the spread of rickets due to a lack of vitamins. With a few exceptions, the natural population growth in Udmurtia was more significant than in the European part of the USSR. In addition, it was positive all these years, even in 1933.

СОВЕТСКИЙ СОЮЗ В НАРРАТИВАХ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИХ ПАРТИЙ СОВРЕМЕННОЙ РОССИИ: ПРИЧИНЫ И СОЦИАЛЬНЫЕ ОСНОВАНИЯ

The purpose of the work is to determine the reasons and social foundations for using the image of the Soviet Union in the narratives of political parties in modern Russia. The publications of the four largest and oldest parties were taken as the object of analysis. Based on the results of the study, it was found that despite the positioning of party ideologies as irreconcilable and conflicting, nothing of thr kind is in reality. There are different versions of the same narrative, the main elements of which are as follows: the Soviet Union is a continuation of the thousand-year tradition of Russian statehood; October 1917 is an important event in Russian history, but it is not given the status of “beginning of times”; there is an overt or covert conciliatory position; rejection of revolutionary social changes in favor of reformist solutions to societal issues; focusing on the subjective factors of the emergence and disappearance of the USSR. The reason for the convergence of narratives between the ruling and opposition political parties is seen in the similarity of the social positions of their leaders (representatives).

Russian History and French Literature. Dostoevsky’s Predecessors and Followers. How and Why to Teach Crime And Punishment. From the Editor

Russian History and French Literature. Dostoevsky’s Predecessors and Followers. How and Why to Teach Crime And Punishment. From the Editor

Formation and development of North Caucasus oil industry (to the 130th anniversary of Grozny oil industry)

Background. The author presents an analysis of the emergence and development of the oil industry in the Kuban and Terek (Grozny) regions in the North Caucasus during 19th—21st centuries, paying particular attention to the Grozny oil industry on the occasion of its 130th anniversary. The process of developing the North Caucasus oil industry is divided into periods depending on the governmental and administration system at different stages of Russian history (Royal Russia, USSR, Russian Federation). As a result, there main stages are defined: 1st stage (Royal Russia for the period of the 19th — early 20th centuries); 2nd stage (USSR); and 3rd stage (Russian Federation). The most important historical events in the course of evolution of the Kuban and Grozny oil industry are given in chronological order. The role of public administration in different historical periods, including revolutionary and war years, economic crisis, and wartime devastation, is shown. The invaluable contribution of Grozny engineers, scientists, and workers of the oil production, oil refining and petrochemical industries to the development of the domestic and world oil industry is demonstrated.Aim. To analyze the history of formation and development of the North Caucasus oil industry taking into account the role of public administration.Materials and methods. A large amount of information on Russian history and the history the North Caucasus oil industry was analyzed.Results. The process of developing the North Caucasus oil industry is divided into periods depending on the governmental and administration system at different stages of Russian history.Conclusion. To identify the main factors influencing the development of the North Caucasus oil industry, i.e., technological progress and public administration. The latter played a fundamental role in the development of the oil industry in the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation.

"ЖЕЛАЛ БЫ ПОЛУЧИТЬ РАБОТУ В ОДНОЙ ИЗ ТЕПЛЫХ РЕСПУБЛИК НАШЕГО СОЮЗА". НОВЫЕ МАТЕРИАЛЫ К БИОГРАФИИ Л.П. КАРСАВИНА ЧАСТЬ ВТОРАЯ

The article is the second and final part of the reconstruction of the circumstances of L.P. Karsavin’s post-war life in Lithuania immediately preceding his arrest. The author of the article shows how the philosopher tried to find a place in Soviet Lithuania, but was unable to match the degree of loyalty expected of him. On a strictly documentary basis he describes the relations of the thinker with Vilnius State University, Vilnius State Art Institute, Vilnius Art Museum; reconstructs the circumstances of the arrest of Karsavin’s daughter Irina and shows by documents the Karsavin’s trip to Leningrad in 1948 and to Moscow in 1949. The author stresses that discussions about the role and scientific status of L.P. Karsavin and V.E. Sezeman in the late 1940s should be included in the broad idea-based context of the ideological campaigns of those years (against objectivism, cosmopolitanism, and low worship of the West). The article introduces a set of archival documents that are important for the history of Russian thought.

ЖАНР ФЕЛЬЕТОНА В ДОРЕВОЛЮЦИОННЫХ ЖУРНАЛАХ О ПРИРОДЕ И ОХОТЕ

The history of Russian hunting journalism dates back almost a century and a half. Different genres are represented in magazines of nature and hunting. The article examines the specifics of the genre of the feuilleton and the content of the polemic waged by pre-revolutionary magazines of nature and hunting in the genre of the feuilleton.The main topics of the feuilleton are the quality of nature and hunting magazines, dog breeding, organization of dog shows, the imitation of European hunting fashion. The study proves the importance of feuilletons for the development magazines of nature and hunting and improving its quality. Scientific methods were used to achieve the goal: the method of genre analysis, general scientific methods of observation, description, systematization.

Введение метрической системы мер и весов в Омском Прииртышье в 1920-е гг.

The article is devoted the process metric reform of the 1920s, which is one of the most important parts of the history of Russian and Siberian metrology and an integral part of the socio-economic modernization of the USSR, in the Omsk district. The purpose of the article is to establish the circumstances of the metric reform in the Omsk district, as well as to identify the problems and difficulties that arose during the transition to the metric system of weights and measures. The main sources for writing the article are the files of the funds the Historical Archive of Omsk Region, primarily the fund of the Omsk Chamber of Weights and Measures; the files from State Archive of Novosibirsk Region are also used. The article describes the process of transition to the metric system in the Omsk district through the activities of the district interdepartmental metric commission and the verification chamber of weights and measures. Based on the results of the study, conclusions are drawn about the progress of the metric reform in the Omsk district.

Dynasty Divided: A Family History of Russian and Ukrainian Nationalism by Fabian Baumann (review)

Dynasty Divided: A Family History of Russian and Ukrainian Nationalism by Fabian Baumann (review)

The Polish Question in the Russian Empire in the latest editions of the series Historia Rossica

The review examines the books by Malte Rolf, Ekaterina Boltunova, and Darius Staliūnas, published in the Historia Rossica series by Novoe Literaturnoe Obozrenie in 2020–2022. The concepts and approaches used by the authors of the works are examined in the context of the established traditions of studying the Polish question in the Russian Empire that influence the Russian and Polish historiography. In the 19th century, Russian and Polish historians created antagonistic national narratives. In the 1950s–1960s, a tradition of studying Russian-Polish revolutionary connections as a key episode in the shared history of Russian and Polish peoples emerged in the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of Poland. This narrative was an attempt to overcome traditional antagonism. Since the 1990s–2000s, Russian and Polish researchers have increasingly focused on the complex nature of the empire’s relations with its Polish subjects, which went beyond enmity and mutual distrust. In recent years, there has been a tendency to simplify the discussion and return to antagonistic narratives both in Polish and Russian historiography. The works of M. Rolf, E. M. Boltunova, and D. Staliūnas are in opposition to traditional conflicting narratives, and their original research positions allow for interesting questions about the complex nature of Russian-Polish relations in the imperial period.

Robert Morrison's Missionary Work in the Qing Empire

The subject of the study is the activity of Robert Morrison and his role in Protestant missionary activity. The author offers a description of the beginning of this missionary activity in the 19th century in the person of Robert Morrison. The study attempts to determine the characteristics of Morrison in this field and his motivation. When writing the article, the following sources were used: an article by Russian historian Vladimir Grigoryevich Datsyshen about the history of Christianity in China, a biography of Morrison authored by William John Townsend, the head of the Methodist Church, the work of James Alexander, a professor of rhetoric at the College of New Jersey, a contemporary of the missionary, as well as a retrospective by William Milne describing the activities of Protestant missionaries in that time period. The novelty of the article is to familiarize Russian-speaking readers with the problems of Protestant missionary activity in the 19th century through works that have not been translated into Russian. A small practical result in the spread of Christianity in China is confirmed, despite the accumulated theoretical base. The study confirmed the role of the opium trade as an activity that harmed missionaries, and therefore criticized by Morrison because it became one of the reasons for the rejection of Christianity by the Chinese. It also describes a huge amount of work in the translation of literature carried out by missionaries in order to familiarize the Chinese with the fruits of Western culture.

К затянувшейся дискуссии об отмене кровной мести князьями Ярославичами

Since the publication in the late 18th century of the Advanced Edition of the Russian Truth (Justice), or Prostrannaya Pravda, almost all historians began to write about the abrogation of the the bloody revenge by the princes Yaroslavichs, referring to the content of the Article 2. For a long time, they ignored the fact that Pravda of Yaroslavichs (the Second Part of the Brief Edition of the Russian Truth, or Kratkaya Pravda) does not mention about this important reform of the sons of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. The attempt to resolve the contradiction between the two editions of the the Russian Pravda led to the emergence in 1860 of hypothesis about two congresses of the princes Yaroslavichs. The title of the Article 19 of Kratkaya Pravda mentions the first congress of the Yaroslavichs, and Article 2 of Prostrannaya Pravda refers to the second congress, at which the princes abolished the bloody revenge. After 1860 the majority of prerevolutionary and Soviet historians supported this hypothesis. Some writers wrote about only one congress, but they left also that the sons of Yaroslav abolished the vendetta. The information about the abrogation of the bloody revenge has become familiar in the general studies on the history of Ancient Rus’ and the history of the Russian law. In the 20th century only some historians (for example, V.O. Kliuchevskiy, N.A. Maksimejko) dared to suggest that the words about the abrogation of the bloody revenge is subjective and perhaps a misconception of the originator of Prostrannaya Pravda. The author of this journal article joins to this opinion. He believes that the originator of Prostrannaya Pravda made wrong conclusions from the content of the articles of Kratkаya Pravda. The vendetta has not been canceled. Unlike many historians of the 19th–20th centuries, the originator of Prostrannaya Pravda did not know about the second congress of the Yaroslavichs. He had the text of the entire Kratkаya Pravda. He read the Article 1 in it, the title by the Article 19 of Kratkaya Pravda with the mention of the congress of the princes Yaroslavichs, the following articles about the double payment (vira) for the murder of the prince's retainers, and decided that the Yaroslavichs had canceled the bloody revenge. This was the subjective opinion of the compiler of the Lengthy Truth, who most likely lived in the 13th century. Expressed more than 100 years ago by N.A. Maksimeyko and sympathetically accepted in 1940–1947 by B.A. Romanov, the hypothesis was unfairly forgotten by Soviet and modern Russian historians. All of the above compels to doubt the opinion about Prostrannaya Pravda as the official legislation of Old Rus’.

Усложняя картину мира

The article, which dedicated to the jubilee of Galina Yankovskaya could be characterized as a collage consisted of fragments of different styles and compositions. Three authors use a date in a historian’s biography as a reason for thinking about interdisciplinary trends in modern historical science and play with the genres of historical narratives. E.Yu. Zubkova shares her vision of the situation in the historiography of late Stalinism and highlights the intersections of her own interpretations of this period with the works of G. Yankovskaya. I.V. Narsky imagined a conversation that could take place between him and the hero of the day about the key issues of visual historical research and new cultural history. Based on the the 2007-2008 monographs on Soviet artists of the Stalinist era and on private photographic practice in the USSR, participants in the imaginary discussion will address a range of issues of concern to them. Two books and their reviews are used as material for a virtual discussion on key issues of visual historical research and new cultural history. These include the impact of the country's development in the 1990s on the research interests of young historians, the origins of the 'visual turn' and its relationship to the shift in interest of Russian historians from events, structures and processes to 'ordinary' people, and the prospects and difficulties of working with the image as a historical source. G.A. Orlova in the first part of her section raises the question of the screen nature of a jubilee. The hero of the day’s statement, that a professional historian should enhance the complexity of the world picture, is contextualized and problematized. In the second part, the results of curating a biographical conversation with Galina Yankovskaya are presented in the form of nine screen-shorts. The life on the big river under late socialism and the river as a frame for the temporal experience of the historian are in focus.

Аншлюс Австрии 1938 г. и позиция «великих держав»: путь к катастрофе. На основе новых архивных документов

The annexation of the Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938 is an important element in the crisis of the Versailles system of international relations, which ended with the outbreak of World War II in Europe. The particular historical and political importance of this event consisted in the fact, that it was the first aggressive action of the Third Reich that led to the disappearance of a sovereign state from the map of Europe. However, despite the significance of this tragedy, it seems to be insufficiently studied in scientific literature. It should be pointed out that the First Austrian republic is often regarded in the Russian as well as foreign historiography as a subject of international relations completely dependent on Germany, fully following in the wake of the foreign policy of its large German-speaking neighbor. It should be pointed out that, with regard to the Soviet foreign policy, many foreign and Russian historians draw the conclusion that Austria played an insignificant role in the foreign policy planning of the Soviet Union. The little-known documents derived from the Foreign Policy Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Military Archive, Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, as well as the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation suggest otherwise. Special attention is paid to the economic side of the Anschluss, which is rarely touched upon in modern historiography. The methodological basis of the research presented below constitute historical-genetic and historical-systemic methods that are used to trace the evolution of the European system of international relations of that period. In this way, a multidimensional approach to the issues considered in the article allows us to recreate a holistic picture of the events of that time, as well as to restore the true cause-and-effect relationships between them. This circumstance is of particular importance in the context of the increasingly frequent attempts to rewrite the history of the Second World War and belittle the efforts of the Soviet Union to prevent it. The authors conclude that based on the new archival documents, it is possible to draw an unambiguous conclusion that the Anschluss became one of the key moments in European history, which made the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe inevitable. It consolidated the main foreign policy line of Western democracies to appease the aggressors, eliminated the last serious obstacles to the union of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy and demonstrated the impossibility of implementing in practice a collective security strategy based on the proposals of the Soviet Union on a united anti-German front.

Символическая политика (в) Российской империи: состояние теоретического и историографического поля

The article discusses the study of the symbolic politics in the Russian Empire in national historiography over the past two decades. The author examines the theoretical foundations of research, terminology, and charac-teristics of various political science approaches, arguing that these tools can be applied to historical studies of the long 19th century. These approaches help reframe the issues of cultural memory and commemorations, signifi-cantly expanding the source base for research and deepening our understanding of political and cultural process-es within the Empire. An analysis of Russian historiography over the last two decades reveals a shift in research strategies for this issue, driven by the integration of foreign approaches to cultural memory into Russian academ-ia. Through the use of various reference works as examples, the author describes the process of heuristic transi-tion from a narrow understanding of symbolic politics as a minor component of the political process, to the idea of its versatility, multi-actor nature, and interconnectedness with cultural, national, and social issues. The final part of the article analyzes a monograph by Russian historian Ekaterina Boltunova relevant to this topic. By pre-senting an example of using political science and the “mixed” approach of R. Wortman, the book clearly demon-strates the prospects for studying the symbolic aspects of autocratic power’s activities in connection with a wide range of issues of the national and cultural policies of the Empire.

Хозяйственно-управленческая этика советских руководителей предприятий 1930–1940-х гг. По источникам личного происхождения

This article, for the first time in domestic historiography, scrutinizes the ethical principles guiding the managerial activities of directors in Russian enterprises during the 1930s and 1940s. To address this issue, a selection was made from sources of personal origin, consisting of expressions concerning the principles of managerial ethics, followed by a structured description of these principles. The study employs historical-comparative and historical-genetic methods. The significance of the economic-ethical aspect of the soviet leaders mentality allows for a fresh understanding of the genesis of the soviet elite and its role in the transformation of the socio-economic structure of the country. Furthermore, the examination of the labor ethics of soviet leaders based on personal origin sources is undertaken by the author for the first time in historiography. Additionally, the article introduces a novel approach by applying a systematic structuring method to the managerial-ethical principles of enterprise leadership. The study of managerial ethics is conducted based on personal origin sources, such as memoirs and diaries of enterprise directors. The primary portion of the source complex is extracted from the archives of the Russian State Archive of Economics (memoirs of A. L. Kozlov, A. M. Kontorshchikov, Yu. N. Kozhevnikov, and the diary of M. V. Yasvoin), the majority of which remain unpublished and minimally incorporated into scholarly discourse. The methodological foundation for studying these sources is rooted in A. Rikh's works on the understanding of economic ethics, as well as contemporary Russian historians works on new property relations in the soviet economy of the 1930s to the early 1950s. The author concludes that the fundamental ethical principles adhered to by enterprise leaders in their managerial activities consisted of an «oath» to the fundamental postulates of soviet authority and the requirements formulated by the state. The leaders deemed the principles of centralized command and personal labor participation in enterprise affairs as correct. Regarding moral norms of management, the leaders considered personal gain, nepotism, and favoritism, among other practices, as unacceptable. However, the principles of economic-labor ethics identified through published sources do not encompass the latent stratum of the soviet economic model, where deviations from certain economic-ideological norms, disregard for subordinates, «everyday» norms of managerial material support, etc., were deemed acceptable. The article concludes that a significant portion of soviet enterprise leaders in the 1930s and 1940s adhered to the proposed soviet ideological system of ethical values, striving to uphold and cultivate «socialist» ethical parameters.

Письма А. В. Соловьёва А. В. Флоровскому (из собрания славянской библиотеки в Праге)

The publication continues the introduction into scientific circulation of letters from the legal historian A.V. Soloviev to the historian-slavist A.V. Florovsky. The proposed letters date back to the late 1940s - early 1960s and are stored in the A.V. Florovsky collection in the Slavic Library in Prague. The letters provide numerous details of Soloviev's biography of the post-war years and reveal his views on a number of subjects in ancient Russian history. It also shows Soloviev's attitude to various scientific and pseudoscientific publications by authors of the Russian Abroad. The letters are accompanied by the necessary comments and introduction.