Sverdlovsk Oblast in the diplomatic history of the USSR: visits of top officials of foreign countries to the region (1955–1965)

The article deals with the problem of increasing the regions’ role in international and foreign economic cooperation of the Soviet Union in 1955–65. The aim of the research is to study the dynamics of the visits of foreign countries’ leaders to Sverdlovsk Oblast, which was traditionally considered as “closed.” Based on the results of the study, the stages of diplomatic activity in the region are identified. It was found that 1955–59 and 1963–65, when 18 visits of leaders of capitalist, socialist and developing countries to Sverdlovsk Oblast were organized and held, were the most eventful periods in this regard. The programs of the visits to the territory of the oblast were analyzed. Based on the results of the analysis, the average length of stay in Sverdlovsk Oblast, the preferred period for a trip to the Middle Urals, and general principles and features of organizing the reception of eminent guests in Sverdlovsk Oblast were determined. It was revealed that the Sverdlovsk Oblast Committee of the CPSU approved a list of 64 institutions which were recommended for foreign delegations to visit. The article highlights the key objects and facilities that were shown to foreign guests. It was found that the main point of the program of almost all delegations was a visit to Uralmash. Foreign guests also visited other industrial enterprises, including those which were located within the 40–50 km radius of the administrative center of the region, the city of Sverdlovsk. The article reveals the importance of the role assigned to the cultural program (visiting the Geological Museum and theaters). Sojourn in Sverdlovsk Oblast allowed eminent guests to see the potential of one of the country’s industrial centers in person and facilitated placing orders in the oblast for the needs of the economy of foreign countries. In addition, an ideological task was solved: the peaceful stance of the Soviet Union which possessed powerful defense potential was demonstrated to the guests. The author concludes that the involvement of the USSR’s regions in the processes of international cooperation was effective. At the same time, the adjustment of the country’s foreign policy in the mid-1960s was marked by a trend towards a decrease in the number of trips of foreign countries’ top officials to the regions of the USSR, including Sverdlovsk Oblast, within the framework of official and working visits.

Stolypin village reform project: development and correction (1905–1908)

The article is devoted to the development and correction of the village reform project, one of the least studied reforms of Pyotr A. Stolypin. Based on the documents of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Duma of the Russian Empire, the author reconstructs the process of creating a draft law of the village reform and making amendments to it during 1905–08. It is shown that this bill was part of the complex Stolypin reforms of local self-government and was developed in compliance with the legislative acts of the tsarist government of 1903 and 1904, taking into account the views of the local committees of the Special Meeting on the Needs of the Agricultural Industry. There are several versions of the draft law: the initial one, which was discussed at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Council of Ministers in 1905–06; the draft law for submission to the Second State Duma in 1907; the draft law revised in the Council for Local Economy Affairs which was submitted to the Third State Duma in 1908. The article considers the discussions in the executive bodies and at the congress of the United Nobility regarding the most important articles of the draft law on property qualification, women’s suffrage, and inclusion in the village regulatory body without elections.

Transformation of autocracy in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century: Sergei Witte’s viewpoint

The article examines the opinions of Sergei Witte, one of the first Russian public politicians and one of the most influential officials of the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, on the transformation of the Russian autocracy. The Memoirs of Sergei Witte as well as documents from his personal fonds stored in the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA) constitute the source basis of the research. The interdisciplinary research paradigm of the performative turn was adopted as the methodological basis of the research. S. Witte’s views on the process of transformation of autocracy are considered through the prism of the following scientific categories: the image of power, scenario of power, authoritative discourse, political myth, performative shift, the principle of outsideness. The analysis of the historiography presented in the article allows us to justify the relevance of the performative approach to the study of Russia’s historical realities in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. Special attention is paid to the personal characteristics of the last two Russian emperors, which were given by Sergei Witte in the pages of his Memoirs and became an important part of Witte’s representation of the process of evolution of the institution of autocracy in Russia in the pre-revolutionary period. Of considerable academic interest are his substantial “portraits” of Russian political parties at the time of their institutional design and programmatic self-identification. Interesting nuances of Sergei Witte’s resignation presented by him in the extremely subjective optics of perception remain of high relevance for the analysis of various materials on the subject. The final part of the article draws conclusions about the content and elements of the concept of transformation of autocracy and describes the influence of new political institutions on that transformation in socio-political situation which had been changing.

Poles in the Arkhangelsk exile during the Second World War (a case study of the special settlements of Uima and Koskovo)

After the outbreak of the Second World War, the eastern territories of Poland were occupied by the Soviet troops (and the new Soviet-Polish border was removed far to the West). Almost 320 thousand Polish citizens who resided in these territories were arrested and sent to the camps and special settlements in the remote regions of the USSR. Of them, almost 58 thousand people were deported to Arkhangelsk Oblast. Based on the materials of two special settlements of Primorsky Raion of Arkhangelsk Oblast, this article considers the process of deportation of Polish citizens, the conditions of their accommodation and labor, their legal status, and repatriation. The authors made an attempt to identify social groups, establish the sex and age composition of the deportees, describe the process of their adaptation to the new conditions and labor efficiency, and point out the peculiarities of the application of amnesty and repatriation. According to the results of the study, the authors came to the conclusion that the conditions in the special settlements under study were such that the death rate among Polish settlers there in the first winter was almost 10% despite the territorial proximity of these settlements to the regional center. Of the survivors, only 20% of working-age men could be involved in the work in the forest. The rest of the exiles consisted of women and children, more than half of whom (47%) were children under the age of 14. In violation of the law, another 15–20% of this number could be sent to work, but in any case, the labor efficiency of such workers was minimal. The situation was aggravated by the lack of normal working and living conditions, which entailed high disease incidence and, as a result, absence from work. Such a contingent became burdensome for logging enterprises. Even with the lowest wages, special settlers’ labor was unprofitable. Meanwhile, even after the 1941 amnesty, the authorities did everything they could to keep the special settlers in the USSR. The authors explain this fact by an attempt to make Polish citizens hostages in resolving the “Polish issue,” i.e. recognition of the new Soviet-Polish border by the West and the Polish Government-in-Exile in London. As soon as an agreement with the allies on the western border of the USSR was reached and the special settlers got an opportunity to leave the USSR, there was no single Polish citizen who wanted to stay in the Soviet Union, and all of them hastened to leave for their homeland.

How Igor Dedkov arrived in Kostroma

The article focuses on the arrival of Igor Dedkov in Kostroma in September 1957. Being placed on a job at the editorial office of the regional newspaper Severnaya Pravda in a quiet provincial city, he worked in Kostroma for more than thirty years and returned to Moscow as a well-known and respected literary critic and journalist. The publication focuses on the fact that the first years of Igor Dedkov’s life and work were very difficult due to gradual adaptation to life in the Kostroma outland, which he later remembered very warmly and after a number of years even with frank admiration. But at that time (from September 1957 onwards) the situation for the young journalist was not easy at all. Unfortunately, in his diary published after his death, I. Dedkov referred to this stage of his biography only casually and without detail. Possibly, it can be accounted for by subsequent correction and radical change in I. Dedkov’s attitude to the province. The main purpose of this publication is to fill in this gap by introducing into scientific circulation a number of unpublished letters and other autobiographical materials which are currently stored in the I. Dedkov Interregional Scientific and Educational Center at Kostroma State University. The use of these and a number of other historiographical sources allowed us to clarify many important details in the life and work of the novice journalist of a regional newspaper, who left the capital for one of the provincial cities on his own initiative. The main methods used by the author of this article are the elements of system analysis, the method of historical reconstruction, induction and deduction. The use of these methods and the use of a previously unknown body of sources allowed the author of the article to significantly expand and deepen the existing (rather limited) ideas about the early period of I. Dedkov’s life and work, about the beginning of his formation as an original journalist and literary critic, who later entered the “great” literature.

“... I am meant to always remain an incorrigible correspondent”: letters from I. Ivanov to S. Platonov written in 1923–1924, introductory article, publication, commentary Authors:

There are still many blank pages in the history of Tver regional studies, especially in that related to the early 20th century. In order to minimize them, the letters of the outstanding Tver local history expert Ivan A. Ivanov (1850–1927), the chairman of the Tver Provincial Scientific Archival Commission (1899–1918), are introduced into scientific circulation. They were written in 1923–24 and are addressed to Academician Sergei F. Platonov, whom the author met in 1897. The warm relations between these people were maintained for almost 30 subsequent years. S. Platonov took an active part in organizing and conducting significant historical and educational events initiated by the Tver Commission. The published letters are the only source of information about the almost unknown period in the life of I. Ivanov after he left Tver in September 1918 and about his active scientific research during this period. The content of the correspondence makes it possible to recreate an accurate picture of the daily life of a former high-ranking official who found himself in completely new life conditions caused by the changes in political situation. The ways of overcoming everyday difficulties, such as lack of accommodation, food and basic necessities, are indicated. Despite all hardship, insecurity, and concern for his children, I. Ivanov remained in need of active intellectual activity. His relatives (wife and children), new acquaintances, and communication with fellow villagers helped him in that. Some prestigious scientific institutions with which I. Ivanov established close ties, for example, the Russian Museum, showed interest in his selfless work.

Vologda reformatories for juvenile delinquents (1918 – the 1920s)

Based on the analysis of archival documents and scientific literature, the article discusses issues related to the formation and functioning of various types of reformatories for juvenile delinquents (school and shelter, probation and supervision station for morally defective children, reception center, children’s home, juvenile colony for difficult children, et al.) that operated in the territory of Vologda Governorate during the initial period of the Soviet era. The data on the location of these institutions, specific features of their management, and the number, composition and confinement conditions of the inmates were clarified. When characterizing the activities of these institutions, along with positive experience, the problems, difficulties and shortcomings in their work were considered and attention was paid to the measures taken to eliminate the latter. The author came to the conclusion that the history of the Vologda juvenile reformatories in 1918 – the 1920s was a reflection of the national policy of the Bolsheviks implemented at the regional level that was aimed at combating homelessness, neglect, and juvenile delinquency, at developing effective measures to eradicate and prevent these negative phenomena, and at searching for an optimal model of an institution for correcting difficult teenagers.

Deputies of Vladimir Governorate in the State Duma of the Russian Empire (1906–1907)

The article is devoted to the activities of the deputies who represented the Vladimir Governorate in the First and Second State Dumas of the Russian Empire. The existing research base on this issue is analyzed. Special features of the local elections in the territory of the governorate are revealed. The data on the influence of the local authorities’ policy on the course of elections in the peasant curia are presented. The regional peculiarities of the tactics of individual parties (the bloc of the monarchist party and the Union of October 17) in the elections to the Second Duma are indicated. The attempts of the local authorities to disqualify the most popular opposition candidates from the elections to the Second Duma (K. Chernosvitov) are presented. The collective portrait of the Vladimir Governorate deputies is given, and the main information about their social status, age, party affiliation, and education is cited. Based on this information, the article shows the similarities and differences of the Vladimir Governorate deputies of the first and second convocations from the all-Russian indicators. The statistics on the membership of the deputies from the Vladimir Governorate in the Duma commissions are indicated, and their participation in the legislative activities of the State Duma is considered. The author highlights the key issues which were of interest to the deputies of Vladimir Governorate, such as social policy, political and civil rights, elections to the State Duma, and judicial reform. The speeches of the deputies on these issues are analyzed, and the most active parliamentarians are identified (I. Aleksinskii, K. Chernosvitov, N. Zhidelev, and M. Komissarov).

Disciplinary system of higher education of the capital in the early 20th century: the establishment and activities of the professorial court

The article considers government measures to establish professorial disciplinary court at higher education institutions of the capital (the court conducted its work from August 27, 1902 to February 22, 1917), the work of the commission on the development of regulations for this body, and the main normative legal acts to implement it. The article examines the issues of the activity of the professorial disciplinary court and the relationship between the participants of this disciplinary system: students, professors, and the authorities. The students who appeared before the professorial disciplinary court were accused of violation of the norms of administrative law of their educational institution, and in accordance with the university charter and the rules of the university, they had to abide by the decision of the court. Professors were in the same position of dependence: membership in the Council of the educational institution obliged them to assume the role of judges. The article explains why the professorial courts did not have the opportunity to become an autonomous body, why the professors themselves did not want to take on the responsibility of judges, and whether all students were hostile to their work. Analyzing the cases of violations which were considered at that time and concerned the rules and order at a university, the author comes to the conclusion that it was not possible to ensure order and create conditions for the restoration of the proper course of academic life by introducing the system of university disciplinary proceedings. The compromise between the authorities and the students, which should have been facilitated by the existence of the professorial court, was not reached. Resistance from students and professors forced the Ministry of Public Education to reconsider the need for the existence of professorial courts and exclude them from the draft of the new university charter.

1917: Between February and October. Review of: The Russian Revolution of 1917: new approaches and views: collection of scientific articles, edited by A.B. Nikolaev, D.A. Bazhanov, and A.A. Ivanov. St Petersburg: RGPU im. A.I. Gertsena, 2020.

The collection of scientific articles under review contains materials of the All-Russian scientific conference held at the Department of Russian History of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia in St Petersburg and dedicated to the problems of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The collection contains 19 articles, including one documentary publication. Among the authors of the collection, there are well-known scientists and aspiring young researchers from St Petersburg and a number of other Russian cities as well as one foreign participant (from Poland). The articles examine various aspects of revolutionary transformations, mainly on the basis of Petrograd materials, mostly in the period between spring 1917 and early autumn 1917. Based on a significant number of published and archival sources, the articles of the collection consider little-known facts from the history of the Russian Revolution and propose new approaches to the interpretation of the situation in Russia in 1917.