scholarly journals The Issue of the Continuity and Discontinuity of the Historical Process in Russian Religious Philosophy

2021 ◽  
pp. 68-83
Author(s):  
M.V. Medovarov
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
Russian Philosophy ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Religious Philosophy ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Moscow School ◽  
Continuity And Discontinuity

This article considers the issue of the continuity and discontinuity of the historical process within the legacy of the Russian philosophers of the first half of the twentieth century. Its main task is to reconstruct their understanding of the category of discontinuity in relation to social sciences and the humanities in the works of N.V. Bugaev, V.G. Alekseev, P.A. Florensky, V.F. Ern, and L.P. Karsavin. This task is accomplished by carrying out a comparative historical study of the works of these philosophers in the context of their mutual influence and of how the given topics are developed. The research, which was conducted mainly on the existing historiography of the Moscow School of Philosophy and Mathematics, identifies a number of lacunae regarding the category of continuity/discontinuity. While this issue was first raised by Nikolai Bugaev and Vissarion Alekseev, it was Pavel Florensky who suggested a solution to the problem by applying the theory of discontinuous functions used in arithmology to the historical process. Florensky’s efforts were initially fruitless, however, and it was not until after 1905 that he succeeded in doing so. It has been proven that Vladimir Ern radicalized Florensky’s thoughts and made significant progress in understanding the topic of discontinuity within the historical process and the progress of mankind. Considerable attention is also paid to the reasons for the repressions enacted against the Moscow school during the Soviet period. Finally, Lev Karsavin’s relationship with this line of study of discontinuity in Russian philosophy is clarified and the place of Karsavin’s early and late works in the study of the category of continuity and discontinuity in the history of mankind is also considered. The conclusion of this article deals with the relevance of this legacy of Russian philosophers in contemporary epistemology and the methodology of history.

scholarly journals Environmental Conditions as a Factor of Influence on the Everyday Life of the Orthodox Population of Ukrainian Lands of the Second Half of the 16th-17th Centuries

2020 ◽  
pp. 9-17
Author(s):  
Inna Goncharenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Wild Animals ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Natural Factor ◽  
Production Practices ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Factor Of Influence

The purpose of this article is to analyze natural conditions as a significant factor of influence on everyday life, practices and strategies for the survival of the population of Ukrainian lands in the second half of the 16th – 17th centuries. The main task of the study is to reconstruct the environment of the second half of the 16th – 17th centuries and to identify the mutual influence of man and nature. Research methodology: the following methods were used: general scientific – historical and logical, analysis and synthesis, generalization; special – historical-systemic, historical reconstruction, which consists in drawing up a fairly complete picture of everyday life from disparate facts. Scientific novelty: the natural factor in the pre-industrial era is significantly underestimated in the studies of everyday life and is one of the most significant in the impact on human life, but it is ignored in modern historical works. Therefore, the analysis of the natural conditions of everyday life, especially in the early modern era, is relevant today. Conclusions. The analysis of the influence of natural conditions on everyday life of the population shows that a significant part of the population in one way or another was engaged in the transformation of nature in their production practices and was largely dependent on the environment. In the minds of the population, nature was seen as an endless resource for consumption. When assessing the influence of nature on everyday life in the second half of the 16th – 17th centuries, emphasis should be placed on the fact that during this period there was a combination of reproduction and appropriating forms of the economy in everyday production practices. The richness of natural resources, the fertility of the soil helped people to survive, but everyday survival was often due to the merciless exploitation of nature, especially in forests and wild animals. Parallel to this, there are attempts to protect resources from overuse by granting privileges to a limited number of consumers and legislative regulation. In general, the environmental circumstances of everyday life of the specified period cannot be characterized as stable due to the reduction of forest, plowing of virgin lands, excessive extermination of wild animals.

scholarly journals THE PROBLEM OF ANDROGYNOUS IDEAL OF A HUMAN BEING IN V.V. ROZANOV’S PHILOSOPHY OF SEX

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-62
Author(s):  
Tatyana A. Ivanova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Married Couple ◽  
Russian Philosophy ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Unsuccessful Attempt ◽  
Concept Of God ◽  
Metaphysical Principle ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
Love Dynamics

The purpose of this article is a philosophical and anthropological analysis of the ideal of androgyne in V.V. Rozanov’s metaphysics of sex. The main focus is on the comparison of the destructive and constructive forms of the androgyne in his philosophy. According to the philosopher, destructive forms include people of «moonlight» or «third sex», who are considered the founders of New Testament Christianity, denying the life of the flesh. Constructive forms are the natural androgyny of a child and the androgyny of a married couple, which reveals itself in love, dynamics, mutual complementarity of a man and a woman. The paper draws parallels between N.A. Berdyaev’s and V.V. Rozanov’s concepts of androgyne, which are antipodal in terms of direction of thought but have common meanings. It is concluded that thesimilarity between the concepts lies in the understanding of gender as a dynamic and metaphysical principle that penetrates through not only the bodily but also the spiritual life of a person, and therefore cannot be rejected. The concepts are also similar in that they draw a boundary between the androgyne and the hermaphrodite, of which the former is the ideal of the human wholeness, while the latter is an unsuccessful attempt to achieve it. The differences between these philosophers consist in the priority of spiritual love in Berdyaev’s system and worldly, bodily love in Rozanov’s, as well as in a different understanding of the process of an androgyne being generated in a person, which, in Berdyaev’s conception, is individual and arises in each of the persons who are in love with each other, while, according to Rozanov, it is exclusively achievable in couples. The paper also pays attention to Rozanov’s own theology, which renews the Old Testament family ideals, offering the concept of God as a «sexual» being and proposing to consider the act of love within marriage as a sacred mystery that unites a person with God in co-creation. The study allows us to rethink the modern problems of gender self-determination of a person, returning to the metaphysical foundations of the Russian philosophy of gender, the main task of which was the synthesis of the spiritual and bodily principles in a person.

scholarly journals Synthesis of Cultures of the East and West in the Philosophy of B.D. Dandaron

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 502-511
Author(s):  
Mergen Sanjievich Ulanov
Keyword(s):  
Practical Aspect ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Western Philosophy ◽  
Russian Philosophy ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Religious Philosophy ◽  
Philosophical System ◽  
Western Philosophical Tradition ◽  
East And West ◽  
East West

The article deals with the phenomenon of synthesis of East and West cultures in the religious philosophy of B.D. Dandaron - one of the most famous representatives of Russian Buddhism in the XX century. The beginning of the spread of Buddhist teachings in Russian society is also connected with his extraordinary personality. Dandaron was engaged in active yoga, tantric practice, and also gave instructions to those who were interested in Buddhism. As a result, a small circle of people began to form around him who tried to study and practice Buddhism. Dandaron was also engaged in Buddhist activities, studied Tibetan history and historiography, and described the Tibetan collection of manuscripts. It is indicated that Dandaron not only made an attempt to consider Buddhism from the perspective of Western philosophy, but also created his own teaching, which was called neobuddism. As a result, he was able to conduct a creative synthesis of Buddhist philosophy with the Western philosophical tradition. In fact, he developed a philosophical system that claims to be universal and synthesized Buddhist and Western spiritual achievements. Trying to synthesize the Eastern and Western traditions of philosophical thought, Dandaron turned to the well-known comparative works of the Indian thinker S. Radhakrishnan and the Russian buddhologist F.I. Shcherbatsky. The author also notes the influence on the philosophy of neobuddism of the ideas of V.E. Sesemann, a neo-Kantian philosopher with whom Dandaron was personally acquainted. The idea of non-Buddhism had not only a philosophical and theoretical, but also a practical aspect, since the consideration of Buddhism from the perspective of Western philosophy helped to attract people of Western culture to this religion. In General, Dandarons desire to create a universal synthetic philosophical system was in line with the philosophical and spiritual search of Russian philosophy, and was partly related to the traditional problem of East-West, which has always been relevant for Russia.

scholarly journals GENRE SPECIFICITY OF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES ABOUT RUSSIAN MOVEMENTS BY E. POSELYANIN

2021 ◽  
pp. 95-103
Author(s):  
Евгения Константиновна Макаренко
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Church History ◽  
Spiritual Life ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Religious Revival ◽  
Russian Orthodoxy ◽  
Biographical Sketches ◽  
The 19Th Century

Введение. Известный в дореволюционной России публицист и духовный писатель Евгений Поселянин (настоящая фамилия Погожев), пройдя путь сомнений в вере и получив духовное возрождение в Оптиной Пустыни, стал участником развернувшейся между интеллигенцией и представителями Русской Православной Церкви дискуссии начала XX в. Церковность эстетического сознания Е. Поселянина определила основную задачу всего его творчества, заключавшуюся в воспроизведении и передаче духовного мира Русского Православия. Цель. Творчество известного духовного писателя и публициста конца XIX – начала XX в. Евгения Николаевича Поселянина, совершенно забытое на несколько десятилетий советской эпохи, требует реабилитации и серьезного научного исследования. Материал и методы. Исследуется сборник жизнеописаний Е. Поселянина «Русские подвижники 19-го века» (1900 г.). Работа написана в русле исторической поэтики. Результаты и обсуждение. В литературной деятельности Поселянина отразились важнейшие духовно-культурные искания его современников и художественно-эстетические тенденции конца XIX – начала XX в. Религиозное возрождение начала XX в. привело к сдвигу границ внутри русской культуры, при котором произошло сближение и взаимовлияние богословия, философии, науки с художественной литературой, что отразилось на трансформации традиционных художественно-эстетических форм. В творчестве Е. Поселянина можно проследить, как церковные темы и православное содержание облекаются в характерные для светской литературы и отходящие от строгих жанровых канонов литературные формы, которые становятся более пластичными жанровыми образованиями, открытыми для выражения и передачи современным человеком опыта духовной жизни. Заключение. Книга Е. Поселянина «Русские подвижники 19-го века» представляет собой документ русской духовной жизни XVIII–XIX столетий. В этом сборнике биографических очерков традиционализм жизнеописания святого размывается жанровыми новациями: включением структурных элементов из других художественных и публицистических церковных жанров (патерики, проповеди, церковная история) и популярной в светской литературе беллетризованной мемуарно-биографической прозы. Introduction. Evgeny Poselyanin, a well-known publicist and spiritual writer in pre-revolutionary Russia, having traveled the path of doubts in faith and received a spiritual revival in Optina Pustyn, became a participant in the discussion between the intelligentsia and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church at the beginning of the 20th century. The ecclesiastical nature of E. Poselyanin’s aesthetic consciousness determined the main task of all his work, which was to reproduce and transmit the spiritual world of Russian Orthodoxy. Aim and objectives. The work of the famous spiritual writer and publicist of the late 19th – early 20th centuries. Evgeny Nikolaevich Poselyanin, completely forgotten for several decades of the Soviet era, requires «rehabilitation» and serious scientific research. Material and methods. The article examines the collection of biographies of E. Poselyanin «Russian ascetics of the 19th century» (1900 edition). The research is written in the mainstream of historical poetics. Results and discussion. Poselyanin’s literary activity reflected the most important spiritual and cultural searches of his contemporaries and artistic and aesthetic tendencies of the late 19th – early 20th centuries. Religious revival of the early 20th century led to a shift in boundaries within Russian culture, during which there was a convergence and mutual influence of theology, philosophy, science with fiction, which was reflected in the transformation of traditional artistic and aesthetic forms. In the work of E. Poselyanin, one can trace how church themes and Orthodox content are clothed in literary forms characteristic of secular literature and departing from strict genre canons, which are becoming more plastic genre formations open for the expression and transmission of the experience of spiritual life by modern man. Conclusion. The book by E. Poselyanin «Russian ascetics of the 19th century» is a document of Russian spiritual life in the 18th – 19th centuries. In this collection of biographical sketches, the traditionalism of the life of the saint is eroded by genre innovations: the inclusion of structural elements from other artistic and journalistic church genres (paterics, sermons, church history) and fictionalized, memoir and biographical prose popular in secular literature.

scholarly journals Education, historical memory and civil identity: vectors of influence (on the example of students of Republic of Mordovia)

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-60
Author(s):  
Tatyana M. Dadaeva
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
Social Events ◽  
Patriotic Education ◽  
The Republic

Introduction. The article presents for the first time the results of the study of the influence of education, historical memory on the formation of civil identity of modern students of the Republic of Mordovia. Clarification and identification of the vectors of historical memory influence in the formation of civic identity through the prism of the education level of young people not only allows to set the existing problems and contradictions, but also to determine the dominant factors and mechanisms (tools) the formation of youth historical memory to effectively use them to reinforce patriotic education, active involvement of the younger generation to meaningful social events of the Russian history through various social institutions such as education, science, art, cinema, media. Materials and Methods. In the course of the study was used a sociological survey of students of universities and colleges of the Republic of Mordovia. Quota sampling by sex, age and level of education was applied. The sample amounted to 586 h. data processing was carried out by using the statistical software package SPSS Base 21.0. Processing techniques made identification of correlation between individual parameters, the Pearson’s Chi-squared. Results. It is based on the identified vectors of mutual influence of education, the historical memory of the civilian identity of student youth set a certain ambivalence and inconsistency in the perception of the historical events of the past among young people, on the one hand is a high assessment of the achievements of the Soviet period, when the collective positive memory of the Soviet past prevails, forming positive attitude to the event the youth is the foundation for sustainable nationwide identity, on the other hand, the events of the modern history of Russia are not significant in the historical consciousness of young people. The author established the importance of the level of education of young people when choosing the main events – “nodes” of memory, events-regret (oblivion), sources of formation. Discussion and Conclusion The question of the influence of individual memory (family memories) on the construction of students’ identity and its comparison with the influence of collective memory remains open, which requires further research. The obtained results expand and supplement knowledge in the field of sociology of youth and memory studies, and can also be used as scientific and methodological recommendations in the development of curricula for teaching historical knowledge in the system of school, secondary vocational and higher education and in priorities determining in the system of youth patriotic education.

scholarly journals Critical Remarks on the Question of a “Moscow School of Metaphysics”

2021 ◽  
pp. 37-46
Author(s):  
A.А. Ermichev
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Developmental Pattern ◽  
Russian Philosophy ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Philosophical Concept ◽  
Philosophical Education ◽  
Systematic Philosophy ◽  
Scientific Metaphysics ◽  
Moscow School ◽  
Selection Of

The article analyzes the concept of the “Moscow School of Metaphysics,” an expression proposed by S.L. Frank in 1932 referring to the institutionalization of the initial advancement of Russian thought in the form of a “scientific metaphysics.” S.L. Frank held the rationalism of L.M. Lopatin and the transcendentalism of S.N. Trubetskoy to be the chief methodologies of this movement. S.L. Frank’s institutional identification is judged to be one episode in the search for a general developmental pattern within Russian thought – a movement toward a scientific and systematic philosophy. In his book Russian Philosophy around S.L. Frank. Selected articles (2020) the contemporary investigator of Russian philosophy, G.E. Alyaev turned his attention to the “Moscow School of Metaphysics” as a historical and philosophical concept. Agreeing with Frank, G.E. Alyaev names the alleged participants in the school, excluding V.S. Solovyov considering him a “religious thinker.” Referring to the material in the journal Problems of Philosophy and Psychology and to the speeches of N.Ya. Grot and V.S. Solovyov, the author shows that the philosophical education of Russian society, and in particular of professional philosophers, was not at a level that allowed for the emergence of the school as a scientometric unit. With the final two decades of the nineteenth century in mind, the author prefers to speak not about the school, but about the direction of the philosophical sympathies of Russian educated society toward either positivism or metaphysics. Within the bounds of the latter, there took place a selection of methodological techniques that allowed Russian thought to move toward a scientific metaphysics. The author mentions V.S. Solovyov, with his final articles, as among those who persistently sought the principles of theoretical philosophy. The author also shows that S.L. Frank, who proposed the concept of the “Moscow Metaphysical School,” is far from precise in its application

DEVELOPMENT OF A METHODOLOGY FOR CONSTRUCTING TAXATION SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (USING THE EXAMPLE OF WESTERN EUROPE AND THE USA)

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2321-2331
Author(s):  
B.A. Fedosimov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Tax Collection ◽  
Western Countries ◽  
Tax Systems

The article presents a theoretical study on the methodology evolution in constructing tax systems in Western Europe and the United States. Also, in a number of cases, the methodology and experience of other European countries (Eastern Europe) and Asian states is examined in the framework of a comparative analysis. Basing on the results of the study and analysis of the methodology genesis of constructing tax systems in Western countries, it is stated: 1) at the moment, in most developed countries, direct taxes dominate in the methodology for constructing the taxation system (more than 100 types of taxes and fees are distinguished); 2) if developing countries at the stage of economic recovery, the key task is to increase the degree of tax collection in order to ensure the completeness of financing public spending, then for developed countries the main task is to curb the excessive growth of the public sector of the economy in conditions when the economy is already approaching such a threshold beyond which it is unreasonable to increase the level of the fiscal burden. However, as the practice of recent years shows, it is extremely difficult to achieve this result. Due to the fact that the methodology for constructing the tax system in the Soviet period was subjected to radical destruction, and the level of tax collection is more than 2 times lower than the average European indicators, not even reaching the optimal level (60%), the results of a study on the use of methodological tools by Western countries to solve these problems are acquiring practical significance and special interest for Russia.

Ideas, Traditions and Higher Personalities: the Conception of History in Russian Philosophy. Article One: P. Chaadaev, A. Pushkin, A. Herzen, F. Dostoevsky

2020 ◽  
pp. 111-121
Author(s):  
Igor I. Evlampiev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Russian Philosophy ◽  
Universal Model ◽  
Religious Philosophy ◽  
Cultural Center ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Divine Power ◽  
The World ◽  
Spiritual Reality ◽  
Spiritual Unity

The article proves that the idea of the historical development of mankind, which is expressed in the Philosophical Letters P.Ya. Chaadaev, became a universal model of understanding of history for all Russian religious philosophy. Accord­ing to Chaadayev, the meaning of history is the gradual refusal of people from selfish freedom, from personal independence, from adherence to material goals and in complete submission to the divine power acting in the world and leading people to connect with each other and with spiritual reality. The result of this process should be the emergence of a perfect humanity. The subjects of history directing its course are the few “higher personalities”; they generate great ideas that turn into traditions and thereby become powerful forces of influence on peo­ple. A.S. Pushkin shared Chaadayev’s view that history is determined by a few “higher personalities” who have a mystical connection with God, with a higher reality. The importance of cultural traditions in history was emphasized by A.I. Herzen, however he believed that Europe had ceased to follow its traditions and this leads to its death. F.M. Dostoevsky after Herzen argued that Europe had renounced its destiny to be the cultural center of mankind, now Russia should become such a center and lead humanity along the path of cultural creativity and spiritual unity. Dostoevsky also saw the historical development of mankind as the result of the activities of individual “higher personalities”, whose instruments are “higher ideas”.

URBANIZATION PROCESSES AND ITS SPECIFICS IN LATGALE

Via Latgalica ◽  
2010 ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Ivars Matisovs
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Urban Network ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Post Soviet Period

<p>Urbanization is an important demo-geographical process and a complex social phenomenon under impact of which changes are made not only to the global, regional or national settlement systems, but all socio-economic processes are also substantially transformed. Changes caused by urbanization have an impact on traditional way of life, cultural particularity, community and individual psychology and other aspects of spiritual life, therefore expressions and regularities of this process might be of interest not only for demographers, geographers and economists, but also for representatives of the field of humanities.</p><p>Paper presents the progress of urbanization processes in Latgale, by covering the period from establishment of the first urban-type settlements in the Eastern Latvia until today, when under impact of the depopulation processes number of inhabitants in all cities of the region decreases dramatically. Particular attention is paid to the course of formation and evolution of the Latgale urban network, successively looking at characteristics of the course of urbanization process during all major stages of the historical process.</p><p>Towns and cities constitute the basis for the Latvian population system, characterized by historically formed relatively dense urban network. Like elsewhere in the country, also in modern Latgale towns and cities are distributed evenly throughout the region area, but historically it has not always been so. Urban spatial and landscape model in Latgale has been developed within the long historical process of gradual accumulation of changes in the landscape space; however the balance of this process is destroyed by sudden transformations of political, economic and socio-cultural conditions the region and its people have had to survive in more than one occasion.</p><p>The article particularly deals with characteristics of the urbanization processes during post-Soviet period, outlines the present urban development trends in Latgale, and highlights major urban demo-geographical problems, among which the emphasis has to be placed on the rapid depopulation, an ageing population and the deepening of territorial inequalities, also intra-regionally.</p><p>Structural economical changes and increasing mobility of population during the post- Soviet period have changed the urban development perspective. Activities based on new knowledge are concentrated in large agglomerations, while individual regions, including Latgale, with less competitive urban centers are noticeably lagging behind in their development.</p><p>Therefore, exactly in these areas and localities it is necessary to strengthen the urban functions to impede also interregional migration of population, since it substantially restricts the functionality of the most remote and underdeveloped areas and hinders provision of services to population at an appropriate level. This is even more important since implementation of the cohesion principles has been proclaimed to be one of the cornerstones of the European Union regional policy.</p><p>Unfortunately, at least for the time being situation in urban areas of Latgale is far from encouraging - negative net migration and negative natural growth factor, persistently high level of unemployment is observed there, social exclusion and apathy prevailing. Admittedly, in recent years urban development in Latgale represents also several positive trends. Urban environmental quality has improved significantly, which is generally associated with transition to environmentally more friendly fuels and implementation of various environmental projects, based on funding from the EU budget, such as municipal waste management, improving of water supply and sewerage systems.</p><p>Encouragingly, facilities of regional higher education institutions improve, and the capacity of scientific work increases, important interdisciplinary research has been launched. In the nearest future significant educational and scientific infrastructure improvement projects at the University of Daugavpils and Rezekne Higher Education Institution are planned to be made, which will certainly increase competitiveness of the Latgale region in the science and technology area.</p><p>Article is based on review of comprehensive scientific literature and analysis of available statistical information. The author does not claim to provide all-inclusive and in-depth analysis of the urbanization processes in Latgale, since this task would be performed in course of further studies, but summarizes the results obtained at an early stage of research of urban areas and population demo-geographical development, as well as of the quality of urban environment.</p>

Weimar Republic and Nazi Era in East German Perspective

1978 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Dorpalen
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Republic ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Study Programs ◽  
East German ◽  
Nazi Era ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
Napoleon I ◽  
Historical Antecedents

Communist countries are notably history-minded. Since they see mankind as advancing toward socialism and communism as part of a law-determined historical process, they base their legitimacy in large part on historical antecedents. East Germany, being faced with the opposing claims of West Germany, has been particularly concerned with establishing its historical legitimacy. The German Democratic Republic (GDR) traces its roots back into a distant past, along a road on which medieval peasant risings, socioreligious upheavals, Reformation and Peasants' War, the War of Liberation against Napoleon I, and the revolutions of 1848 and 1918 stand as significant milestones. Perhaps no Communist leadership ever did its homework in history more thoroughly prior to its assumption of power than did the East German leaders. From the mid-1930s on, in their Moscow exile, they devoted considerable attention to the exploration of historical questions from the Marxist perspective; later, Marxist historians and Communist party officials began drawing up plans for historical study programs, textbooks, and monographs in preparation for the day when they would be able to take over power in Germany. They knew it would be important to prepare the way “historically,” too, for the transformation of Germany from a capitalist into a socialist society.

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