Russkaya Starina

9-21

Authors: Mark R. Lysenko

The article deals with the defense of the left bank of the Dnieper River in August-September 1941. The author singles out the creation of Kremenchug bridgehead as the main reason for the Kiev encirclement. This thesis confirms the analysis of the general strategic situation in the Ukrainian direction, established by the time of the formation and consolidation of the Kremenchug bridgehead. The author examines in detail the chronology of the battle for the left bank, which mainly unfolded not over the entire front, but on separate bridgeheads. Comparing the German plans with the current operational situation in the area from Kanev to Zaporozhye, the author has concluded that the Red Army, pulling together large forces to fight on local breaks, in conjunction with the little interaction between the commands of armies, fronts and the Supreme Command, has created conditions conducive to the successful breakthrough of the enemy on his main direction. As secondary factors affecting the defense, the author considered the general problems of the Red Army at the end of summer – the lack of ammunition, weakness of mobile units, and “staff hysteria”. The study is based on the documents of the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and German archival documents in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States, as well as sources of personal origin and historiography on the subject under study.

29-43

Authors: Pavel E. Semashka

The article analyzes the modern Russian historiography of the constitutional crisis of September – October 1993 in Moscow. The author considers articles published in journals and collections included in the Russian Science Citation Index. Using methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis, the author identifies and characterizes seven major topics that have been most actively studied in historical science. Researchers paid the most attention to the problem of regions and the interaction of the center with them. They also paid an attention to the legal aspects of the topic: institute of presidency in the legal system of the country, peculiarities of adoption and characteristic features of the Constitution, etc. Besides, the article examines the historical sources used by the authors (they mainly referred to scientific literature on the issue, press data and published documents of state authorities) and makes a conclusion about the necessity of introducing new sources and more active use of the existing ones (archival and statistical data). The positive (increased attention to the problems of regions, the role of the press in the conflict) and negative sides of modern historiography on the subject (poor coverage of the role of social movements and political parties in the conflict) are noted.