On the fate of the Russian intelligentsia: to the publication of the epistolary heritage of N.P. Antsiferov

Bakshaeva N.Yu.

Abstract

The theme of the fate of the Russian intelligentsia during the formation of Soviet statehood is still relevant and requires the introduction of new sources into scientific circulation, first of all, letters. This type of sources of personal origin contains the author's direct reaction to events in his personal and social life, thanks to which he manages to immerse himself in the context of the era. One of these documents is the correspondence of N.P. Antsiferova. «This is our life in letters»: Letters to family and friends (1900–1950 s)» is published for the first time in the edition “New Literary Observer”». Nikolai Pavlovich Antsiferov is an outstanding historian and scholar of culture and local lore, the author of classic works on the history of St. Petersburg. He is known for his works on the northern capital and his memoirs published only during the years of perestroika. For the first time, the book publishes a significant part of the scientist's epistolary heritage, revealed in the archives of Moscow and St. Petersburg. For the first time, the scholar's correspondence presented to the reader is a valuable source of historical information that allows one to study the cultural and historical process of Soviet Russia and the place of the intelligentsia in it.

Keywords

intelligentsia; soviet rule; science; Antsiferov; GULAG; epistolary; history of everyday life.

DOI: 10.31249/rsm/2021.04.13

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