Russkii Arkhiv

12-28

Authors: Tatiana K. Shcheglova

The article considers Russian experience of the development of oral history in the years 1990-2020-ths as a variant of "oral history" – the research trend that appeared in foreign countries in the middle of the XX century. By using historical-comparative analysis of the processes of foundation, activity and liquidation of research groups and centers on the diachronic and synchronic levels the author contemplates the directions of their research, subjects and forms of activities of the centers, reveals tendencies and peculiarities of Russian oral history. The conclusions are made that the pioneers of oral history in its «foreign understanding» (oralhistory) in Russia in the very beginning were universities with laboratories of oral history and human rights organizations. The effect of this was a breakthrough in the formation of source base of modern Russian history and scientific- methodological maintaining of research projects and young oral historians training. Scientific trends in the beginning of development of Russian oral history were determined not only by the peculiarities of current political situation (glasnost and perestroika) and numerous problems in Russian source studies and historiography but also by compensatory significance of oral history oriented on the work with social groups whose rights were violated in the tragic periods of history. Certain breakthrough in trends of research work took place in the years 2000−2020-ths and manifested itself in the extension of topical research projects using oral history as a source and method in all spheres of past historical life. The article pays attention to the fact that the oral history of the World war and the Great Patriotic war became a problematic zone that appeared in the focus of international confrontation. The author also describes a new tendency of the development of oral history – the involvement not only educational institutions but cultural-educational institutions as well, first of all, regional museums for which oral history granted new opportunities of exhibition activities. The increase in number of participants of oral history research projects coincides with the development of global information nets that led to both positive and negative consequences. The positive consequences mentioned in the article are scientific contacts in Russia and in the world, and the new forms of research work with the help of Internet resources for formation and presentation of sources (Internet-portals, websites). But their life does not last long that leads to the loss of unique sources. As a result, the most important thing is the formation of oral archives and publication of interview materials, that has its advantages and disadvantages revealed in this article.

44-56

Authors: Tatiana Iu. Vlaskina

A fragment of a large autobiographical interview with Anna Sergeevna Filimonova is dedicated to the war period. Anna Sergeevna belongs to the Filimonov family of the Upper Don Cossacks, who made a significant contribution to the events of the Civil War and collectivization. Anna Sergeevna herself in the first days of the Great Patriotic War became a tractor driver of the collective farm named after S.M. Budyonny. At this time, A.A. Plotkin (a recognized prototype of the hero S. Davydov of Virgin Soil Upturned) was a head of this collective farm. Having arbitrarily taken from the store the vegetables that were due to her as payment for her work days, Filimonova commits a serious offense, which is assessed by the laws of wartime as theft of socialist property, and receives 5 years of correctional labor. In her interview, Anna Sergeevna talks about the daily life of the youth of the wartime collective farm, about selfless work, youthful enthusiasm, but also about constant hunger, formalism and neglect of people by the leadership. She continues the theme of everyday fatalism in a story about prison life, which turns out to be inscribed in the usual realities of war. As a bearer of the Cossack tradition, A.S. Filimonova conveys the details of her life in a juicy Upper Don dialect. Folklore images, omens and superstitions are woven into the fabric of everyday story. Interview with A.S. Filimonova is a valuable source on everyday wartime life and the worldview of Soviet people in the first half of the 20th century.

76-92

Authors: Natalia A. Arkhipenko, NinaA. Vlaskina

The interview with Irina Abramovna Belikova was recorded by the authors in May 2010 in the Novokumskiy village.It is a part of the long-term comprehensive work of Rostov ethnolinguists in the Nekrasov Cossack communities. The topic of the published conversation was the daily life of the Nekrasovites in Turkey and Russia after their return (1930–1960s). Irina Abramovna tells in detail about the life of adults and children, the structure of courtyards, the Nekrasovite’s costume, and typical occupations. She describes in detail agricultural work in Turkey (participation in it of Nekrasovites of different generations, cultivated crops, the process of harvesting grain and legumes), emphasizes the hard work of the Cossacks. I.A. Belikova talks about the entertainment of young people, the contexts of communication with the Turks (trade relations, she tells in detail about studying at a Turkish school and relationships with teachers), about leaving Turkey, returning to their homeland and relationships with local residents after repatriation.The published material is a valuable source for studying the dialect and everyday life of this ethno-confessional group of the Russian people.

110-124

Authors: Larisa M.Salakhova

In the second half of the XX century, life of the Angara region changed dramatically thanks to the ambitious industrial projects of the Soviet era. In a relatively short time of 40 years, on the Angara River there were built Irkutsk, Bratsk, Ust-Ilimsk hydroelectric power plants, which gave rise to metallurgical, timber, mining giants, and also the construction Boguchanskaya HPP began. The region's three-century way of life has undergone some major changes in the context of urbanization transition. This publication presents the oral memories of the former residents of submerged settlements. The interviewees vividly describe their lost homeland, relying on their stories from everyday life and family history. They describe how and where they were resettled, and also the relationships and fates of forced migrants in the new socio-cultural conditions.

130-135

Authors: Ekaterina A. Bobrik

The publication contains several documents that make it possible to trace the chain of bureaucratic changes in the legislative regulation of the life of highlanders prisoners of war during the Caucasian War.The issue that has been most acutely raised in the article has risen in recent years of the war, despite the tens of thousands of prisoners of war across the country. All the documents are part of a large-scale project to change the legal basis of the ability of mountain natives to return to their homeland. According to the sources, the main stumbling block was religious and ethnic affiliation. For the first time, these sources reveal new details about how the Russian government addressed one of the most important issues of the Great Caucasus War.

148-159

Authors: Igor O. Tumentsev, Alexander L. Kleitman

This publication is a continuation of the testing of the source in the framework of the project of preparing the entire text of the memoirs of the constructor I.A. Makhanov for scientific publication. As a Bolshevik-Leninist, faced in 1940 with the order that reigned in the Gulag, the memoirist was deeply shocked by what he saw. He came to the conclusion that the Leninist penitentiary system, based on the re-education of people who committed crimes by working in labor camps and communes, was transformed by the Stalinists into Gulag concentration camps similar to the fascist ones. These camps were based on the very real slave labor of prisoners and aimed to destroy political opponents-Leninists through their disposal “in the Stalin’s dump”. The criminals held in the camps were considered by the camp administration as lumpens – an element that was socially close to the proletariat and were used for secret reprisals of political prisoners. Makhanov showed how the Stalinist regime turned normal people into criminals and found that, despite everything, many of them remain human and in other circumstances could have become full-fledged members of socialist society. The memoirs contain new information about the death of V.E. Meerhold's wife, actress Z. Reich.

185-199

Authors: Nicholas W. Mitiukov, Anatoly N. Loshkarev, Olga A. Nelzina

In this work, the publications of the newspaper of the city of Votkinsk “Leninsky Put’” of 1950-1960, dedicated to the river transport of the city, were selected. This is the decade of the heyday of the work of the Office of Small Rivers under the Council of Ministers of the Udmurt ASSR, which is practically not reflected in archival documents. Thanks to the newspaper, it becomes possible to clarify a number of facts about the biography of the Votkinsk courts that are absent in other sources. So the steamboats of the Votkinsk timber industry enterprise “Azin” and “Oktiabr’”, according to newspaper information, were reliably operated until 1960. Perhaps, “Oktiabr’” in 1959 was taken to the reserve for technical reasons and was not used more actively. The boat “Volna” of the Votkinsk operational office in 1960 was transferred to the disposal of the Votkinsk club of young sailors. This fact was also not reflected in office's documents. During the indicated period, three farms of the Votkinsk pond had their own fleet: plant No. 235, Votkinsk timber industry enterprise and Votkinsk operational office. There is practically no information about the fleet of the defense plant No. 235 in the newspaper's publications. The timber industry fleet is mainly mentioned in the light of the fulfillment of the logging plan, with both critical and approving assessments. But in publications about the Votkinsk operational office, critical notes prevail. The appearance of new ships of the office, as a rule, on the pages of the newspaper remains unreported, which may indicate the low popularity of this type of transport among the town dwellers. But the appearance in 1957 of the large (by the standards of Votkinsk) motor ship “Pobeda” leads to a significant increase in the popularity of the office. The boat becomes the object of literary sketches and photo sketches. In general, the newspaper “Leninsky Put’” is a valuable source on the water transport of Votkinsk, which makes it possible to significantly supplement and expand the understanding of the work of Votkinsk river workers.

19-33

Authors: Vladimir I. Afanasenko

The influence of abnormal natural factors on the results of the Sivash offensive operation in November-December 1943 is not enough studied issue. The natural features of the theater of the operation is unique. Sivash is the largest (130 km) Bay of the sea of Azov, with a swampy, muddy bottom and low depths. Surging winds abruptly and suddenly change the depth, and waves of up to 10 points and have a huge destructive force. The German command did not take into account the experience of the Red Army when crossing the “rotten sea”, which was a name of the Sivash, at the final stage of the Russian Civil War, in November 1920, and did not organize a defensive position on the Crimean coast of the Sivash Bay. Crossing the salt lake in harsh winter conditions under the influence of enemy aircraft and artillery led to significant losses of Soviet troops in manpower and military equipment. The scale of damage caused by abnormal natural factors on the results of the Sivash offensive operation in November-December 1943 requires further detailed investigation.

46-53

Authors: Nikita S. Shubin

Recording the memories of the participants and eyewitnesses of the Great Patriotic War is one of the most important ways to preserve a historical memory. These materials are valuable historical sources that allow us to analyze the perception of war by Russian society. These issues are not reflected in official documents, which historians traditionally refer to. However, the possibilities of recording memories of the war are steadily declining. The last generation of direct witnesses of the war are people who survived it in childhood. But they are becoming less and less. The author of the memoirs, Valentin Matveevich Shubin, was born in 1937. At the age of 5, he became an eyewitness to the Nazi occupation of the city of Salsk, Rostov Region. Obviously, the basis of his story about the war and occupation is not only his own memories, but the information received in the family from his parents. Before the interview, was set the goal to find out how the city itself changed during the occupation and the living conditions of the people living in it. During the interview with the respondent, questions were raised about the everyday life of the population, relations within the family between relatives and with representatives of the occupying forces, and the various fates of people who found themselves in the war.

75-83

Authors: Nicholas W. Mitiukov

In the collections of the archive of the museum of the Votkinsk machine building plant there is a “Vorotov folder” containing drawings, photographs, letters and other documents, that are a valuable source on the history of Votkinsk’s shipbuilding. The article deals with the introduction into scientific circulation and analysis of one of the documents from the “Vorotov folder” – the “Vorotov list”, which is an inventory of the products of the shipbuilding department of the Votkinsk plant, apparently written in the 1970s. After analysis, the author made a conjecture that the “Vorotov list” was composed of at least three original lists. One of them probably represents the lost paperwork, another has unintentional errors from obviously oral sources. Thus, the use of the “Vorotov list” as a source on the history of Votkinsk shipbuilding should be accompanied by serious criticism.

104-113

Authors: Olga M. Morozova

Historical and revolutionary memories have always been at the forefront of political and scientific criticism. Their use is associated with the need to overcome not only the subjectivity of the author, but also inaccuracies and gaps in the narrative. At the same time, this type of historical sources has great potential for understanding the past, since it can go beyond the usual set of facts, official discourse, and traditional interpretations. Storchakov’s speech at the evening of memoirs of the participants of the Civil War at the Club of Political Convicts on October 11, 1931 in Dnepropetrovsk became the subject of research and interpretation with the involvement of other sources – participants in events, synchronous documents, as well as reference materials.

104-110

Authors: Igor G. Ivantsov, Igor V. Dubinin

The history of the foundation and formation of the port city of Yeysk on the Sea of Azov is inextricably linked with the name of its first chief, Alexander Sergeyevich Golitsyn, a native of the old princely family. On the stay and activity as head of the city of Yeisk A.S. Golitsyna is told by the documents of the fund 80 “Nikolai Sergeyevich Golitsyn (1809–1892), military historian” of the Manuscript Department of the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Pushkin House). This is personal and business correspondence of A.S. Golitsyna, identified by the authors of the article. The published letters were deposited at the Pushkin House on September 3, 1920. Their study allows us to understand why, at first glance, the successful leader and administrator of Yeysk was not there for so long, and why, despite the persuasion of his superiors, who greatly appreciated his business and personal qualities and requests friends, nevertheless left his post.

124-135

Authors: Oleg A. Grom

The article reproduces a set of letters stored in the fund of Arseniy (Stadnitsky) of the Russian Federation State Archive, concerning the events of Kishinev pogroms of 1903 and 1905. Stadnitsky was a well-known church figure in the first third of the 20th century, a native of Bessarabia. The letters were written by Stadnitsky’s relative D.V. Shcheglov, a teacher at the Kishinev Women’s Diocesan School. One of the letters belongs to Shcheglov’s mother. The letters describe the Kishinev pogrom of 1903; give an assessment of the causes and consequences of this event, as well as of a similar pogrom of 1905. The texts are of interest because they reflect the vision of anti-Semite manifestations typical for Kishinev Christian inhabitants in the early 20th century.

156-172

Authors: Nicholas W. Mitiukov, Anatoly N. Loshkarev, Svetlana L. Bautina

Based on the electronic collection of newspapers in Udmurtia of the 1930-s on the National Library of the Udmurt Republic sampled newspaper notes on the water transport of Izhevsk. Analysis of the sample showed that the steamers were of great importance as participants in cultural city events. The population refers to water transport as a reliable and regular means of communication through the pond. Negative feedback on the work of riverboats in the analyzed sample is found regularly, but not more often than once a year, which resembles the usual practice of self-criticism in the USSR. Despite a certain subjectivity and a clear political context, newspaper reports are a valuable historical source for the water transportation of the 1930-s in Izhevsk.

184-195

Authors: Olga V. Semenova

1970s–1980s became the time of active work of VOOPIiK (All-Russian Society for the Protection of Monuments of History and Culture). The project to create a public organization for the conservation of monuments dates back to 1965. Not only historians, architects and restorers joined the organization. An important role was played by ordinary citizens – workers, collective farmers, schoolchildren and students. Their efforts and patronage obligations revealed and saved many objects of history and culture. The documents of archival funds reflect historical information about the work of the Rostov regional branch of VOOPIiK.

10-20

Authors: Nicholas W. Mitiukov, Anatoly N. Loshkarev, Svetlana L. Bautina

The photos of the vessels of Izhevsk and Votkinsk ponds from private collections are a valuable historical source, allowing to clarify and supplement the information from the written sources. The photo from the collection of A.V. Korobeynikov is probably the only image of the boat “Pioner” or “Komsomolets”. The photo from the V.A. Musienko collection argues that the steamer “Krasny Splavshik” when transferring Izhevsk operational office became “Zvezda”. The photo by V.A. Temin depicts a previously unknown image of the Izhevsk steamer “Krasny Splavshik”. The photo by L. Sterkhova proves that the boat “Otvazhny” is a serial modification of self-propelled barges of the type “Takelazhnitsa”. The photo by O. Larionova is probably the only one image of the boat “Osvod”. The photo from the collection of R.V. Golev, probably represented the boat “Moryak”.

37-47

Authors: Alla V. Shadrina

1917–1918 were a milestone in the history of the spiritual educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Soviet government, starting in December 1917, created a legislative base, the purpose of which was the destruction of confessional education. In 1918, after the publication of the Statute on the Unified Labor School of the RSFSR, all theological schools were destroyed. In contrast to the central provinces of Russia, in the Don Region the situation was different. Thanks to the creation in May 1918 of the Don Republic of the Great Don Army and the support of the army government, religious educational institutions continued their activities on the Don until 1920, the year of the final establishment of Soviet power.

57-79

Authors: Konstantin V. Voronin

On November 2, 1942, it was established the Extraordinary State Commission (ESC) with the aim to the Emergency State Commission in order to establish and investigate the crimes of the German fascist invaders and their accomplices and the damage they caused to citizens, collective farms, public organizations, state enterprises and institutions of the USSR. In the krais and regions of the USSR liberated from the occupation, the regional commissions for assistance to ESCs were created. This publication of the documents throws light on the creation, work and outcome of the activity of the Rostov Regional Commission for the Establishment and Investigation of the Crimes of the Nazi Invaders and the Damage Caused by Them in the territory. All the documents are stored in the Rostov Region Center for Documentation of the Contemporary History and are being published for the first time.