CONTENTS, AUTHORS, ABSTRACTS

Articles

M. Shushkova The Reform of the Administrative System of Turkestan Region at the Beginning of the XX c.: The Conflicts between St. Petersburg and Tashkent

Margarita E. Shushkova – Lecturer, Department of Humanities, Social, and Economic Disciplines, Zheleznodorozhny branch of RSUH (Moscow oblast)
margyritta@freemail.ru

This article is based on little-known documents. It examines the reforms of the administrative system in Turkestan Region (Krai) at the beginning of the XX c. from the point of view of the interaction between the imperial center and the Russian Central Asian periphery. Particular attention is paid to the development of legislation on the regional, provincial, municipal, county, and village administration in Turkestan. It finds that the reform of the administrative system of the Russian Central Asian territories was hindered by disagreements between the Russian government and the Turkestan administration. The departmental subordination of the Turkestan general-governorship was the most contentious issue.

Central Asia, Turkestan, Turkestan general-governorship, military governor, Council of Ministers, special meeting, military-civil administration, reform

V. Agapov “A pathetic desire for inner peace”: The second year of World War I as reflected in the liberal mirror, “Vestnik Evropy” (1915 – 1916)

Vadim L. Agapov – Candidate of History, Senior Lecturer, Department of Mass Communications, Far Eastern Federal University (Vladivostok)
windrace@nm.ru

This article deals with the public position of the Russian liberal journal “Vestnik Evropy” (“Bulletin of Europe”) in the period from mid 1915 to late 1916. It analyzes the themes and content of the journal’s articles, the relation of the leading publicists of the journal to matters of domestic and foreign policy. It focuses on the ways in which the journal reflected the social and political crisis in Tsarist Russia and the conflict between the State Duma and the government. It concludes that during this period “Vestnik Evropy” paid more attention than previously to the social consequences of the war. The publicists showed the decline of the war’s popularity. From July 1915 the journal supported the parliamentary opposition and sharply criticized the government of Nicholas II for refusing to carry out liberal reforms.

World War I, “Vestnik Evropy” (“Bulletin of Europe”), journalism, Entente, Germany, Austria-Hungary, autocracy, liberalism, State Duma, public opinion, K.K. Arsenev, M.M. Kovalevsky

S. Voytikov “Thank God, it’s not a session of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee”: From the History of  the Russian “Parliament” during the Epoch of Lenin’s Dictatorship

Sergey S. Voytikov – Ñandidate of History, Chief Scientific Employee, Moscow Chief Archival Department
svoyt@mail.ru

This article, based on previously unknown archival documents, looks at the place of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) of Soviets, the first Soviet Parliament, in the hierarchy of the Soviet governmental system, 1918–1920. Main attention is paid to the change in the status and role of the VTsIK after the death of Ya.M. Sverdlov. It concludes that in the course of the inner-party struggle, V.I. Lenin, for the sake of strengthening his personal ditatorship, subordinated the VTsIK to the Council of People’s Commissars (the Bolshevik government) and the Central Committee of the RKP(b) (Bolshevik party). As a result the VTsIK actually lost its position as the supreme representative body of the «first workers’ and peasants’ state».

Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Central Committee of RKP(b), All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Soviets, Council of People’s Commissars, Ya.M. Sverdlov, V.I. Lenin, M.I. Kalinin, inner-party struggle, dictatorship, proletarian democracy, representative institution

Comments

E. Kirichenko  The Russian Diplomatic Representative in Hakodate A.E. Olarovsky (1870 – 1874)

Elena B. Kirichenko – Postgraduate Student, History Department, Skovoroda Kharkov National Teachers’ Training University (Ukraine)
borodina_olena@mail.ru

The activity of A.E. Olarovskiy, head of the Russian consulate in the Japanese city Hakodate in 1870–1874, is examined on basis of documents from the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire and the State Archive of the Russian Federation. Much attention is given to an analysis of his reports to the Asian department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about commodity circulation in Japanese ports, and about the activity of Russian trading companies in Japan. It concludes that Olarovskiy sought to increase Russian trade with Japan because he considered it very important for the consolidation of Russia’s positions in the Far East.

A.E. Olarovskiy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Asian department, consulate, Russian Far East, Japan, Hakodate, foreign trade

I. Kovrigina, A. Kostrov P.N. Wrangel in Irkutsk (1902 – 1906): “Documentary Biographies” and Archival Documents

Inessa A. Kovrigina – Candidate of History, Senior Lecturer, Department of History and Philosophy, Irkutsk State Technical University
NikitaKovrigin@mail.ru

Aleksander V. Kostrov – Doctor of History, Senior Lecturer, Department of  Modern Russian History, Irkutsk State University
a_kostrov@mail.ru

This article, on the basis of newly discovered archival documents, covers an unexplored page in the biography of General P.N. Wrangel:  his civil service as a special mission officer for Irkutsk Governor-General A.I. Panteleev, 1902–1906. It analyzes the content of the documents of Wrangel’s personal archive kept in the State Archive of Irkutsk Oblast. It shows how and why Wrangel transferred from the civil service and decided in favor of a military career.

P.N. Wrangel, A.I. Panteleev, Irkutsk, Irkutsk General-governorship, Governor-General, special mission officer, personal record, State Archive of Irkutsk Oblast

Anti-Bolshevik Russia

M. Krotova Russian Emigrants in Interwar Manchuria: Manipulation of Citizenship as a Strategy of Survival

Mariya V. Krotova – Candidate of History, Senior Lecturer, Department of History and Political Science, St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance
Mary_krot@mail.ru

This article, based on unknown archival documents, looks at processes of manipulation of citizenship among the Russians in Manchuria during the interwar period. The main focus is on the activity of the Soviet Consulates in Manchuria, adoption of Soviet citizenship by Russian employees of the Chinese-Eastern Railway and the motives for the frequent changes of citizenship by emigrants. It concludes that Russian emigrants in Manchuria had to adopt Soviet, Chinese, and Manchurian citizenship for the sake of physical survival and national-cultural preservation. The instability of the military and political situation in Manchuria allowed Russian emigrants to change citizenship and keep their relative “independence” until the mid-1940s.

Russian emigration, China, Manchuria, Manchukuo, Chinese Eastern Railway (CER), USSR consulate, citizenship, strategy of survival

Landmarks in Human History

A. Ganin Michael Antonovich Dorman: The General and His «Case»

Andrey V. Ganin – Candidate of History, Editor, Military History Department, Russian Historical Journal “Rodina”
andrey_ganin@mail.ru

This article deals with the case of the «Smolensk branch» of the monarhist union, “Nasha Rodina” (“Our Motherland”), in the context of the red terror during the Russian Civil war. It is based on documents from the Archive of the Smolensk Oblast Department of the Federal Security Service of  the Russian Federation and the Russian State Military Archive. Main attention is paid to the personality of former general M.A. Dorman (“the head” of the “Smolensk branch”) and to the working methods of the Western oblast ChK (Cheka) during the first months of the red terror (Fall 1918). It concludes that Smolensk Cheka officials fabricated the “counterrevolutionary organization”. “The disclosure of  the plot” and the execution of most of the defendants became a step in the formation of a system of preemptive terror, the act of frightening potential enemies of the Bolshevik regime, and a means of strengthening the role of ChK (Cheka) in the Soviet state.

Civil war, Western oblast, Smolensk, Western oblast ChK (Cheka), red terror, hostages, General staff officers, M.A. Dorman

History on Screen

V. Khokhlov The film «The Horde»: Realities and Myths of the Russian-Tatar Middle Ages

Victor A. Khokhlov – Candidate of History, Senior Lecturer, Department of Audiovisual Documents and Archives, Institute for History and Archives of RSUH
hohlovictor@gmail.com

This article analyzes the historical film “The Horde” (2012) directed by A. Proshkin, script by U. Arabov. It focuses on the representation of the Russian-Tatar Middle Ages and the cinematographic image of Metropolitan Alexius. It also examines the images of the dominant myths about the relationship between Moscow princely power and the Russian Orthodox Church. The article concludes that with the appearance of this film the state now plays a new role in the creation of Russian historical films: determining its ideological content and also providing its financial support.

Film “Horde”, A. Proshkin, U. Arabov, Golden Horde, Metropolitan Alexius, Russian Orthodox church, post-soviet historical cinema

Book Reviews

E. Smirnova “A New Interpretation” of the History of Pharmacy in Russia

Elena M. Smirnova – Candidate of History, Senior Lecturer, Department of History and Philosophy, Yaroslavl State Medical Academy
smirnova.klio@mail.ru

The article reviews the book by the historian N.N. Koroteeva “State Policy in the Sphere of Russian Pharmacy XVI – beginning XX cc.” (Kursk, 2010). Main attention is drawn to the theoretical theses, the quality of the source base, the structure of the monograph, its research logic, and the degree of reliability of the author’s conclusions. It finds that the book under review does not adhere to a high scientific standard, and that the author’s claim for scholarly innovation is groundless.

N.N. Koroteeva, historiography, historical source, Moscovy, Russian Empire, pharmacy, pharmaceutical activity, history of medicine, history of pharmacy

O. Kvasov The Moscow Okhranka: On the History of the Subject

Oleg N. Kvasov – Candidate of History, Senior Lecturer, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Voronezh State Forestry Academy
kvasovoleg@yandex.ru

This article discusses modern conceptions of the structure and activities of the Russian Empire’s secret political police, and reviews the book by Yu.F. Ovchenko: “The Moscow Okhranka at the Turn of the Century, 1880–1904” (Moscow, 2010). On the base of archival documents, the monograph reconstructs in detail the origin and structure of the Moscow Okhranka (the Agents Branch of the Russian secret political police). It also presents important generalizations about the tactics and strategies of the Moscow Okhranka in its activities to counter illegal revolutionary organizations. The article concludes that the monograph makes a significant contribution to the development of modern Russian historiography of the Russian Empire’s secret political police.

Yu.F. Ovchenko, historiography, Russian Empire, Moscow, secret political police, Police Department, Okhranka, secret agents, provocation, revolutionary terrorism

V. Kobzov Book Review: Kuptsov I.V., Buyakov A.M., Jushko V.L. White generals in the East of Russia during the Civil War: A Biographical Reference Book. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole; Association “Military Book”, 2011.

Vladimir S. Kobzov – Doctor of History, Professor, Department of Social Sciences and Management. School for training legal personnel, South Urals State University (Chelyabinsk).    vld-kobzov@yandex.ru

A. Grishchenko On the Soviet Past of the South Russian Cossacks: The Oddities of a Modern Historiographic Situation

Alexey N. Grishchenko – Candidate of History, Senior Lecturer, Department of History and Social Technologies, Novocherkassk State Melioration Academy (Novocherkassk, Rostov oblast)
grichenko1981@rambler.ru

In the article two monographs of the Don historian A.P. Skorik «The Multiplicity of the Cossacks of South of Russia in the 1930s: Historical Essays» (Rostov-on-Don, 2008) and «Cossack of South Russia in the 1930s: On the Frontier of Historical Destinies of Social Community» (Rostov-on-Don, 2009) are analyzed. Their comparative analysis is conducted with other published works on the history of the Cossacks of South of Russia in the 1930s. The article addresses the scientific novelty and scholarly contribution of the books to the development of Russian national historiography.

A.P. Skorik, historiography, Cossacks, South of Russia, Soviet power, decossackization, collectivization, Soviet Cossacks