Oleksiy Tolochko’s Concept and the Origin of the Short Pravda Russkaia

A wide circle of historians, lawyers, and secondary school teachers are interested in the Pravda Russkaia. This review analyses the historiographical situation around the study of this important artefact after the publication of The Short Pravda: The Origin of the Text (2009) by Oleksiy Tolochko, in which the author develops the opinion that the Short Pravda appeared later than the Expanded Pravda, which was expressed by prominent linguists and historians (E. F. Karskii, S. P. Obnorskii, A. I. Sobolevskii, etc.) in the first half of the twentieth century but later discarded by Soviet scholarship. By combining various methods from source studies, the author proves that the Short Pravda did not originate as a legal document in the eleventh century, but as a fragment of The Chronicle of Novgorod in the early fifteenth century. The review shows that specialists’ responses to Tolochko’s book are limited to a few journal publications, each of which criticises one or two of separate arguments but does not systematically consider the proposed holistic theory of the artefact’s origin (articles by K. Zukerman, P. V. Lukin, A. A. Gorskii, A. Y. Degtyarev, etc.). Any attempt at summarising the results of the controversy leads to the belief that the discussion is methodologically unsound. The analysis of an article from the Pravda that is taken out of context can lead to opposing interpretations depending on the choice of the parameters preferred by a given author at a given time. Considering the fundamental nature of the Pravda Russkaia for the history of medieval Russia, the reviewer concludes that it is necessary to make an effort (probably a collective effort) towards a systematic analysis of Tolochko’s hypothesis: the traditional isolated study of this most important legal document should be placed within the broader framework of a comprehensive study of the collections in which the short and expanded versions of the Pravda have been preserved.

The Grain Market between the Reigns of Alexey Mikhailovich and Catherine the Great: Was there a ‘Price Revolution’?

The author of this article attempts to reveal and systematise archival data on grain prices in Russia between the 1650s and 1700s and analyse their dynamics by comparing them with data for the eighteenth century. The study is based on a wide range of archival sources from the funds of the RSAAA (RGADA), CSA of Moscow (TsGA of Moscow), DM NLR (OR RNB), and SFI CANNR (GKU TsANO). The data from these sources make it possible to construct time series describing rye and oat price dynamics in the northern and central non-black earth regions of Russia. The author substantiates the homogeneity and reliability of the data received and determines the real prices. The resulting numbers make the author doubt the “price revolution” in eighteenth-century Russia. Throughout the eighteenth century, the average real prices remained below the level of the 1660s and 1670s. Only in the 1790s did prices briefly exceed this level. Overall, the Russian grain market was characterised by long-term price fluctuations. The author aims to explain this dynamic by analysing supply and demand in the grain market. More particularly, for the first time in the historiography, the author examines the connection between Russian grain prices and yield in the second half of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is established that in most cases, the relationship between these indicators was direct: as grain yield increased, prices did too. The article explains this seeming paradox. The data published by the author help not only to estimate the impact of various factors on grain prices during the period in question, but also solve practical tasks regarding various price indicators in grain equivalents.

Service Tatars in the Diplomatic Service of the Muscovite State: The Baymakov-Rezanov Family

Very little is known about diplomatic professionals specialising in eastern affairs in the Muscovite state until the seventeenth century. The issue has only occasionally been touched upon in some research works. This is explained by the limited number of surviving sources. For this reason, the Baymakov-Rezanov family is unique, as the extant data make it possible to trace the uninterrupted service of this clan’s representatives over the course of a century. This is thanks to cadastres and embassy records from both sides, a few extant documents from the Ambassadorial Prikaz, and the family’s persistent nickname. Ambassadorial service was a family business where traditions were passed from generation to generation, from elder sons to younger ones. Several generations of Baymakov-Rezanovs took part in organising the diplomatic contacts of the Muscovite state with Muslim countries as reconnaissance riders (Rus. stanichniki) and interpreters (Rus. tolmachi). They repeatedly headed diplomatic missions and were very well paid for their work. The examination of their family’s story makes it possible to observe the organisation of diplomatic service from a longer historical perspective. Initially, the technical side of contacts with the countries of the east was organised by princely Tartars, who served the grand prince proper. They were provided with land close to Moscow. Gradually, they started forming smaller groups of specialists, such as translators (Rus. bakshei), tolmachi, stanichniki, and the newly baptised (Rus. novokrescheny). This structure was largely destroyed by the Time of Troubles. This affected the circle of people recruited to the service; it grew considerably and was quite often created in accordance with the demands of the moment. Over time, it was predominated by service Tartars from Meshchera. The classic model of the peripheral staff of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, consisting of translators and tolmachi, only formed in the mid-seventeenth century as inherited positions dwindled significantly.

The Konotop Campaign of 1672 to “Elect a Hetman”

This article analyses the reasons for Hetman D. Ignatowich (Mnogogreshniy)’s dismissal and arrest on the night of 13 March 1672 and the election of I. Samoylowich as the new hetman. The author provides a detailed description of all the reports regarding Ignatowich’s communications with Hetman Doroshenko and his plans to launch a mutiny against the tsar and become subject of the Turkish sultan, which made Ignatowich start mobilising troops and transport his property to a safe place in advance. Additionally, the author describes the effort taken by the Russian government to keep the hetman under their rule and lack of plans to dismiss him. After the information about Ignatowich’s treason and arrest by representatives of the Cossack starshina (officership) reached Moscow, the latter supported the plotters and tried the former hetman in a court of law, sentencing him to exile in Siberia. Even though there were fears of Cossack uprisings to support Ignatowich, the appointment of a new hetman was bloodless and was not followed by any serious uprisings, which testifies to the lack of support towards him personally or the policy he carried out. On 17 June 1672, the 30‑yearold Samoylowich was elected hetman at the Konotop Rada. He did not enjoy any support of the starshina or Cossacks in general and was dependent on the support of the tsarist authorities and Cossack elites. The conditions of the Konotop articles signed at the Rada were identical to the Glukhov articles from 1669 and provided the hetmanate with broad autonomy and a very limited tsarist military and administrative participation. The only addition was that the authorities were requested to arbitrate any possible disputes between the hetman and the Cossack starshina. In order to demonstrate the military support for the tsar’s candidate, the authorities sent Prince Romodanovsky’s army to the place where the Rada was to be held and deployed additional troops along the hetmanate’s borders.

General Henning’s Yekaterinburg: An Attempt at Reading the “Urban Text”

The author of this article attempts a semiotic interpretation of the features of the architectural and planning system of early Yekaterinburg (1723–1734). The method is based on an improvisation on Michel de Certeau’s ideas about the city as a complex text, which results from the simultaneous and inconsistent creativity of its founders and administrators on the one hand and ordinary people on the other. Another source for the author’s improvisation is the ideas of some representatives of the French school of genetic criticism, more particularly, the concepts of avant-text and text. From these positions, the author considers the activity of V. I. Henning (Rus. transcription: Gennin), the founder and first head of Yekaterinburg and a general in Russian service. The main milestones of his career, the accumulation of experience as an engineer and administrator, and the formation of a worldview before his Ural period are evaluated as work on the avant-text, while Yekaterinburg becomes the actual text. The author proves that Yekaterinburg was created by Henning not just as a large mining and metallurgical enterprise. General Henning’s Yekaterinburg appears as a manifesto city, a material text that embodies the aesthetics of the Baroque and the postulates of cameralism in its layout and execution. The city became a symbol of Petrine empire building on the border with Russia’s Asian possessions.

Colonel V. A. Pashkov: Leader of Russia’s Lost Reformation

The reviewer considers Filipp Nikitin’s new book on Colonal Vasilii A. Pashkov, a Russian Evangelical leader in the 1870s and 1880s. A rich Russian aristocrat and landowner, Pashkov was an unlikely missionary, but his conversion at the hands of the British Lord Radstock in 1874 led to a lifetime of preaching and charity among both social elites and the lowest members of society. Although initially not in conflict with the Russian Orthodox Church, Pashkov’s increasing prominence and his efforts to unite Russia’s various Evangelical movements led to his exile in 1884, where he remained for the rest of his life. The reviewer compliments Nikitin’s comprehensive use of archival sources, drawn from a huge number of collections in Russia and abroad. This makes his book a significant contribution to the historiography, much of which is fragmented or out of date. The author’s decision to release previously unpublished documents in the book’s appendix is an excellent contribution. However, the reviewer points out that Nikitin quotes too much from and relies too heavily on source material, which drowns out his authorial voice: it is argued that the author should spend more time analysing the sources rather than just quoting them. The reviewer also suggests bringing in more contextualisation and consulting some of the recent conceptual approaches to religious biography.

Peter the Great’s Lost Letter to Georg Wilhelm de Henning: On the History of Expert Thought and the Antiques Market

The elements of expert analysis established in Russian academic circles by the late nineteenth century, when auxiliary historical disciplines became an indispensable part of the academic base of historical knowledge, are described in this article with reference to a lost letter by Peter I to Georg Wilhelm de Henning sent on 24 December 1724. These elements include the study of the letter, the stages and methods of introducing it into scholarly circulation, and the assessment of its significance and value in monetary terms. It is established that the original of the letter ended up in a private collection in the early twentieth century and became inaccessible to historians. However, handwritten copies, a draft, and descriptions have survived. The article analyses the work with Peter I’s letter performed by the members of the commission for the publication of Peter the Great’s letters and papers, as well as by the first owner of the letter, N. K. Bogushevsky, the Parisian antiquarian Noël Charavay, into whose hands the letter fell a decade after its former owner’s death, and N. P. Likhachev, a prominent specialist in a number of auxiliary historical disciplines to whom the antiquary turned for an expert opinion. While researching the copies and descriptions of Peter I’s letter, the authors used traditional methods of expert analysis of the missing original found in the collections of St Petersburg Institute of History (Russian Academy of Sciences), the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, and the National Archives of France. Referring to handwritten materials from the Russian State Archive of Literature and Arts, the Russian State Library, and sales catalogues, the authors carry out a brief analysis of the Western European and Russian antiques market in the late nineteenth – early twentieth centuries in relation to Russian documents from the eighteenth century (prices and demand). The attribution of authenticity to historical documents (including the first Russian emperor’s autographs) was not only an issue of the reliability of historical knowledge or academic interest, but also one of reputation of connoisseurs, collectors, antiquarians, and the experts they turned to. At the same time, reputation helped ensure the quality of expertise and was a tool for raising this through horizontal connections within the professional community.

The Destinies of German-Born People in Russia at the Turn of the Millennium

This article studies the stories of Russian citizens who were born in Germany but reside in Russia. Most of them had relocated to Russia as a result of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Germany after 1990. Analysing individual data from the 2002 and 2010 censuses, the author traces the lives of children born into the families of Soviet military men based in East Germany after World War II. Over 140,000 such migrants can be found in the 2002 census, far more than from any other country that was not part of the Soviet Union. Repatriation was accomplished from 1991 to 1994; and even though Germany financed part of the operation, it was necessary to solve the problems of accommodation and employment of the military men and their families locally. As a result of the study, the author manages to determine the territories inhabited by Russians born in Germany in the early twenty-first century. The number of people among them who speak foreign languages and have post-secondary education is higher than average, which testifies to the fact that the joint effort of the two countries was more beneficial for the future of the people born in Germany than might have been expected. The competence and education they acquired, together with the social networks between those repatriated, added significantly to their human capital and their contributions to Russian society.

Documents of the Austrian State Archives about the History of Habsburg Diplomatic Relations with Russia: Research Potential

This article considers the formation of archival funds about Austro-Russian relations in the late seventeenth century in one of the four departments of the Austrian State Archives (the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv of the Habsburgs). The analysis demonstrates that the archival funds formed alongside the development of the archive’s structure. The sources referred to include documents dedicated to the foreign policy contacts of the Habsburg dynasty with Russia in the late seventeenth century. The authors focus on the period when, because of the Ottoman threat, interactions between Vienna and Moscow intensified, which manifested itself in the active exchange of embassies and correspondence. The authors reveal the main type of structure of the archival funds mentioned. The collection contains several types of historical sources, among which the authors single out official letters (der Brief), instructions (die Instruktion) for Viennese representatives sent to Moscow, authentications (die Beglaubigung), decrees, minutes of audiences, envoy accounts (der Gesandtenbericht), and reports (der Bericht) of the Viennese envoys in Moscow. The characterisation of archival documents by fund and type demonstrates the deep research potential of the sources. The authors reveal that despite the long development and numerous military conflicts that influenced the preservation of the funds, the Haus-, Hof-, und Staatsarchiv are an institution of supranational importance, accumulating the historical heritage of Austria and Russia. The archive department contains a large array of documents shedding light on various aspects of diplomatic relations between Vienna and Moscow in the second half of the seventeenth century, making possible a comprehensive study of Habsburg contacts with Russia. This makes it necessary to consider introducing the source base into scholarly circulation.

Guilds of German Bakers of St Petersburg in the First Half of the 19th Century: Conflict Resolution Practices and Everyday Life

Referring to materials from the Russian State Historical Archive and the Central State Historical Archive of St Petersburg, this article investigates mechanisms of competition and resolving conflicts between tradesmen in St Petersburg and the level of German masters’ adaptation to a new cultural and social environment. It reveals an opportunity to reach a deeper understanding of bread production in the capital over a long period of time. Competitive confrontations between guilds reflect not only the negative aspects of monopolistic tendencies among trade masters, but also the vitality of St Petersburg trades. This manifested itself in constant rivalry among the guilds of Russian and German bread makers, confectioners, pretzel bakers, roll makers, and non-guild pastry makers. The intensive competition could increase or decrease due to national, confessional, cultural, and territorial factors. The 1830s and 1840s were the last period of this open competition: after, all such guilds were united into a single organisation. The author provides a periodisation that conditionally reflects the fundamental stages in the development of the guilds: 1721–1785 (their establishment), 1785–1840s (their flourishing), and the 1850s–1870s (unification and standardisation with new regulations). The struggle for the partial monopolisation of market segments in the 1830s and 1840s pointed to the need for clearer structures. The prosperity, entrepreneurship, and influence of German bakers manifested themselves in the black-market sale of a certain type of securities: bakery certificates whose price could reach 12,000 paper roubles. Bread production in St Petersburg can be used as a positive example of an institution that underwent a century-long cycle of modernisation characteristic of an immobile and conservative society. This cycle of modernisation was based on a catch-up model of development and contributed to dynamic innovation (the introduction of mechanical dough mixers from Germany). The author puts forward a hypothesis that the increase in stiff competition pointed to the limits of the market and thus the limits of growth: production volume could no longer grow arbitrarily, which meant that access to guilds became more restricted.