History and Historians in the Context of the Time

22-35

Authors: Aleksandr A. Cherkasov

The paper attempts to describe the combat path of Petr Pavlovich Cherkasov (1912–1942) during the Second World War. The archival documents (Russian and Finnish archives) are used as sources, most of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, as well as materials of personal origin. The author comes to the conclusion that the fighting path of Pyotr Pavlovich Cherkasov during the Second World War was associated with the partisan detachment “Battle Cry”, which was part of the Karelian Front. Petr Cherkasov was mobilized to this unit on July 23, 1941. From August to December 1941 Petr Pavlovich Cherkasov took part in five reconnaissance and sabotage operations behind the front line. During the fifth operation, a group of partisans on December 12, 1941, behind the front line, near the Karelian village of Kiisjoki, ran into a Finnish patrol and hastily retreated. For most of the partisan group, the task was over, and it headed to the place of permanent deployment. However, due to the urgency of the retreat from the group, partisan Petr Pavlovich Cherkasov lagged behind, for whom his main service on December 12, 1941 was just beginning. Not finding his group's ski tracks (it had been snowing all day), he took advantage of the expedition rule not to go far from the place of the last meeting and began to hope for the return of the partisan group. Without food and fire, alone, in a snow-covered forest, at extremely low temperatures, Petr Cherkasov carried out his service for a long 12 days. It was a confrontation between man and nature in the harsh conditions of the Far North. Every such day required superhuman efforts and high morale, and this despite the fact that the village occupied by the enemy was in close proximity. Overcoming hunger, Petr Cherkasov continued to hope for help, for fellow soldiers, but they never came. On the 9th – 11th days, a thaw began, which was replaced by severe frosts. In all probability, it was after the thaw that Petr Cherkasov got frostbite on his hands, which deprived him of the opportunity to get food. In such conditions, further confrontation with nature has become impossible. On the 13th day, in a state of moderate injury, Petr Cherkasov came out of the forest and was captured. His further fate was predictable. According to the norms of international law, the partisans were not soldiers of the Red Army and the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War did not apply to them. As a result, Petr Cherkasov was accused of espionage and shot on January 20, 1942.

48-63

Authors: Aleksandr A. Cherkasov

The paper attempts to restore the military path of Aleksei Pavlovich Cherkasov (1910–1969), a representative of the Cherkasov family from Kereti. The research source base is represented by the materials of the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense (Podolsk, Russian Federation), the National Archive of the Republic of Karelia (Petrozavodsk, Russian Federation) and the State Archive of the Murmansk Region (Murmansk, Russian Federation). The collections of published documents and materials of personal origin were also involved in the study. In conclusion, the author states that the combat path of Aleksei Pavlovich Cherkasov during the Great Patriotic War was formed taking into account the specific combat situation at the front. So, in the initial period of the war, when all available human resources were sent to the front line in order to stop the enemy's advance, Aleksei Pavlovich Cherkasov in 1941 got to the front. At first, he fights as part of a consolidated fighter battalion, and later as part of the 24th Motorized Rifle Regiment. In these units, as a squad commander, he participates, among other things, in the defense of Petrozavodsk and receives the first wound. After the front was stabilized in early 1942, Aleksei Pavlovich Cherkasov received an officer's rank in the quartermaster service and was transferred to the head of the divisional (114th Rifle Division) bakery, and in December 1942, the head of the administrative and economic part of the same division. In June 1944, in connection with the transition of the Red Army to a counteroffensive in Karelia, Aleksei Pavlovich Cherkasov was transferred to the headquarters of the 7th Separate Army and on July 1, 1944, while in the combat zone, he was seriously wounded in the leg. After 3 months of hospital treatment, the quartermaster technician of the 1st rank Aleksei Pavlovich Cherkasov was demobilized from the Red Army and returned to civil service in the People's Commissariat of the Fishing Industry of the Karelo-Finnish SSR.

13-30

Authors: Artyom Yu. Peretyatko

A number of emotional and potentially destructive terms are currently used in post-Soviet historiography and journalism. The most striking example of such a term is the term “genocide”. The issue of its interpretation by Russia is currently even being considered by the International Court of Justice. However, there are more specific terms that are used to refer to specific repressions, such as “holodomor” or “decossackization”. The term “decossackization” is often used without deciphering its specific meaning, even in scientific literature. Meanwhile, it is ambiguous, and there are cases of its use to refer exclusively to the “genocide of the Cossacks”. Given the existence of socio-political forces calling for retribution against the Russians for this genocide (real or mythical), the question of the appropriateness of using the scientific term “decossackization” is particularly acute. The article shows that the term “decossackization” is not authentic. The first cases of its use that we found date back to the turn of 1910–1920, and then it had a different meaning, denoting a relatively peaceful process of the Cossacks losing their privileges and identity. It began to be used regularly on the pages of the emigrant magazine “Vol'noe kazachestvo” by 1930. However, even then it first changed its meaning, starting to be used to refer to a variety of processes that are unfavorable for the Cossacks, according to the editors of the magazine. And only in the 1990s “Decossackization” enters the dictionaries of the Russian language as a designation for harsh Soviet repressions of the Cossacks. Modern historians use the term “decossackization” in all the above senses, adding their own to them. This makes it harder, not easier, to understand their articles. In addition, the term “decossackization” often hides non-obvious author's views on various processes in the history of the Cossacks. The author concludes that the use of the word “decossackization” as a scientific term should be avoided, replacing it with complex authentic terms (for example, «mass terror against the Cossacks»).

37-45

Authors: Anatolii L. Cherniavskyi

The article is devoted to studying the processes of origin and development of the institute of the honorary consul in the system of Ukraine's diplomatic and consular service. Until the 17th and 18th centuries, the Ukrainian consular service was born in the orbit of the European diplomatic relations system. Protecting fellow citizens abroad was mainly carried out by private individuals – merchants, ship owners, and wealthy citizens. In 1649, Bohdan Khmelnytsky signed the Treaty between the Sultan of Turkey and the Zaporizhzhya Army and the Russian people, which provided for the introduction of particular positions of residents of the Zaporizhzhya Army, called to protect the rights of Ukrainians and represent them before the authorities of the Ottoman Empire. The suppression of the seeds of the Ukrainian state by the Moscow regime led to the liquidation of the Ukrainian diplomatic and consular service. A short surge in the development of Ukrainian diplomacy in 1917−1921 was also suppressed by the Soviet authorities. After the declaration of Ukraine's independence in 1991, the revived Ukrainian diplomacy faced an acute shortage of personnel and material resources by deploying a vast network of diplomatic and consular services. One of the ways out of this situation is the active use of the honorary consul institute. An analysis of the activities of honorary consuls of Ukraine and foreign honorary consuls in Ukraine shows that representatives of big businesses or owners of large capital are often appointed to these positions, to whom the status of honorary consul provides additional authority, privileges, and immunities. In most cases, such honorary consuls avoid the direct performance of consular functions and do not provide the necessary consular protection to citizens. Not the least of these is the Ukrainian legislation, according to which honorary consuls of Ukraine directly perform consular functions provided for in Art. 5 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963, which is possible only in exceptional cases. At the same time, the practice of European states has developed new approaches to the institution of the honorary consul. Qualified specialists (lawyers, notaries) capable of providing assistance and professional protection of citizens of the accrediting state before the authorities of the host state are appointed to such positions. The authors concluded that in the conditions of a sharp increase in the number of Ukraine citizens who are abroad due to the military invasion of Russia, the need to modernize approaches to understanding the functional purpose of honorary consuls and harmonize this institution with the European experience becomes urgent.

8-12

Authors: Nicholas W. Mitiukov

Currently, with the development of the Internet, many forums and groups have arisen, on which photographs from personal archives appear. As a rule, these are simple pictures taken by amateurs, and therefore the owners treat them as unworthy of attention. But often, these previously unknown photographic materials can become a starting point for rewriting existing concepts and reconstructions. The object of this study was a photographic material about water transport from the site "Uryupinsk – the capital of the Russian province", closed in 2020. It is shown that these materials are a valuable historical source that significantly supplements the information of the site "Water Transport", partially correcting it.

12-16

Authors: Madona Kebadze, Tamar Lekaidze

The paper presents one of the parts of Georgia, Kakheti and its mountainous region. Kakheti is located in the Eastern Georgia. It is bordered on the West by Kartli, on the North by the Russian Federation (Dagestan), from which it is separated by the Caucasus Mountains, and on the South by Azerbaijan. Kakheti region includes the inner and lower reaches of the river Iori and the Alazani river basin. Some parts of Kakheti are called Garekakheti (middle of the river Iori), Kiziki (between the lower reaches of the river Iori and Alazani), Shida Kakheti (right bank of the river Alazani) and Gaghmakhari (left bank of the river Alazani). The Caucasus of Kakheti, which runs steeply on the Alazani plain, is amazingly beautiful. Kakheti is connected to Tusheti by the pass of the bath on the Caucasus ridge. Therefore, Kakheti is bordered by Mtianeti-Pshavi, Khevsureti and Tusheti to the North. Our research topic concerns the attitude of the kings of united Georgia or Kartli-Kakheti towards the Kakheti mountains. Specifically, the role of Tusheti in the XVI-XVII centuries.

9-19

Authors: Nicholas W. Mitiukov

The paper analyzes photographs and references in the local history literature of Uryupinsk regarding Votkinsk-built boats that worked on Khoper: “Pobedny”, “Moskva” (“Smely”) and “Leningrad” (“Boyky”). It is concluded that, most likely, “Moskva” is a former factory boat “Pobeda”. "Leningrad" is an unfinished building, finally completed at the Stalingrad shipyard. “Pobedny” was a serial boat of unknown construction, which at one time worked at the Votkinsk plant. The first two boats in the late 1950-s were overhauled with the replacement of two gasoline engines with one diesel engine and possibly decommissioned in December 1961. “Pobedny” worked at the crossing until the 1960-s.