Book: Russian history in persons - Vladimir Fortunatov. History of Russia in faces History of Russia in faces

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...Studying the history of their country is necessary for those who rule, and those who cover it bring true benefit to the state.

Prince M. M. Shcherbatov

Introduction

In 1862, the monument “Millennium of Russia” was unveiled in the city of Novgorod. The creators of the monument, M. O. Mikeshin and I. N. Schroeder, immortalized 109 figures of educators, statesmen and military figures, writers and artists in the high relief of the monument. The list of names of those who were awarded the monumental incarnation was widely discussed and was approved “at the highest level,” that is, by Emperor Alexander II.

In his “Russian history in the biographies of its most important figures,” published in 1873, N. I. Kostomarov included essays about more than 40 characters in Russian history from the 10th to the 17th centuries. – from Prince Vladimir the Saint to Stenka Razin.

Hundreds, if not thousands of detailed personalities and brief biographical information were published in well-known pre-revolutionary and Soviet encyclopedic publications.

Since the second half of the 1980s. a real “boom” of biographical literature began. The magazines “Domestic History”, “Questions of History”, “New and Contemporary History”, “Motherland” and others regularly published biographical articles. They often preceded the appearance of monographs, brochures, and collections of biographies. Along with central publishing houses, many unique biographical books were published by local publishers.

Popular magazines and newspapers began to publish “ratings” of historical figures, compiled on the basis of special sociological surveys.

The “personal issue” does not leave the agenda of Russian socio-political life. The remains of the Romanov family were reburied and canonized by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000. However, the issue of the Mausoleum of V. I. Lenin on Red Square has not yet been resolved. The remains of the philosopher I. A. Ilyin and the leaders of the white movement, generals A. I. Denikin and V. O. Kappel, were reburied, and at the same time, cases of destruction or desecration of memorial sites were known.

In the conditions of new Russia, over the past 15-20 years, many new monuments, memorial museums, and plaques have appeared. But the opening of new or restoration of old memorial museums is often either hopelessly delayed or even cast into doubt due to the fact that some “very important persons” of Russian history “had the imprudence” to be born or live in houses, places or land plots that they liked modern influential and also rich people.

It is also worth mentioning the powerful stream of feature films and documentaries, in the center of which were hundreds of famous figures of the past.

“...Only in recreating the destinies, behavior, consciousness of historical figures is it possible to imagine the course of history in its entirety multilateral integrity.

After all, this move in any of its most varied manifestations - from changes in the economy to the acquisition of a new religion - is embodied in nothing other than actions of people although this does not at all mean that individual people, individuals act entirely consciously and purposefully; in the end they are just live - moreover, together, in unity with many of his contemporaries,” wrote V.V. Kozhinov. 1
Kozhinov V.V. History of Rus' and the Russian Word. Modern look. M.: Charlie, 1997. P. 282.

Everyone has heard that the history of any country is primarily influenced by objective factors: climate, terrain, access to the seas, geopolitical position, availability of minerals and other material resources. It is these factors, in one or another combination, that decisively influence the fate of peoples and people who find themselves in a certain territory in a certain historical period. But for some peoples, favorable objective conditions are clearly insufficient for organizing a full-fledged social life and for progressive development. Indian tribes could occupy vast areas of North America for centuries, being in unity with the surrounding nature. White people who came to the lands of the Indians changed the face of North America, and the world as a whole, for several centuries.

Man relatively recently separated from nature, took a special place in it, and created his own special extra-natural world. The conscious activity of people marked the beginning of history as such. The emergence of various forms of community of people, the relationships between these communities, the ways of interaction of people with nature, the whole huge world of the new, which previously did not exist in nature itself, which in the broadest sense is sometimes called culture, became the result of man’s use of his intellect, will, energy, muscular strength and movements of the soul. At the heart of any historical event, process, transformation is the movement of human thought, a certain idea. Most often, a specific historical figure who put forward a particular project, innovation, or idea expresses the general aspirations of his contemporaries or, as they say, the objective needs of the time, pressing tasks. The objectivity of the so-called historical prerequisites in reality turns out to be imaginary, since it represents only a high concentration of desires, aspirations, and readiness for action of many people. Therefore, any fragment of historical development, any historical event, historical fact is a manifestation subjective factor, that is, the objective-practical activity of individual individuals or entire groups of people, which constitutes the active beginning of history.

Historical science uses many tools to describe its subject of study. Using a huge number of designations for specific objects, general concepts and particular characteristics, historians sometimes forget that modern man acts in a different objective world and is not always able to delve into the realities of the past. Perhaps in our country many people do not know history well because, in the form in which it is presented, it is difficult to understand. If we concentrate on destinies people who made Russian history and entered its annals, then such an approach can contribute to the formation of a different understanding of the events of the past. Indeed, in the actions of many historical figures, not only a certain historical predicament, an “iron” pattern determined by “objective prerequisites” was manifested, but also features of upbringing, personal psychology, the totality of human qualities, the influence of other people, and much more.

In the book offered to the reader, for the first time in historical popular science literature, an attempt is made to present the events of Russian history through the biographies of specific people at all stages of our historical development “from Rurik” to the present day. Against the backdrop of modern “desolation”, the history of Russia amazes with its large population and the richness of human destinies. However, back in the century before last it was said: “Yes, there were people in our time, not like the current tribe...”. It’s not even hundreds, but thousands of people who “ask” to be included in this book. But the volume of the book is limited. In such a situation, one cannot help but resort to some systematization and structuring of the material used.

Firstly, there is an established periodization of national history, which has fully justified itself in organizing the educational process. 2
See: Domestic history: Textbook for technical universities / Ed. V. V. Fortunatova. St. Petersburg: Peter, 2006; Fortunatov V.V. Domestic history: Textbook for humanitarian universities. St. Petersburg: Peter, 2007; Fortunatov V.V., Snigirev S.F., FirsovA. G. Domestic history in diagrams and comments: Textbook. St. Petersburg: Peter, 2006; Fortunatov V.V. Domestic history: exam answers for university students. 2nd ed. St. Petersburg: Peter, 2006.

In accordance with the nature of the political system of Russia, the following historical periods in the development of our Fatherland are usually distinguished:

1) pre-state period (until the 9th century);

2) Ancient Rus' - an early feudal state (862-1237);

3) Russian lands as part of the Golden Horde (1243-1480);

4) Muscovy - estate-representative monarchy (1480-1700);

5) The Russian Empire as an absolute monarchy (1700-1860);

6) The Russian Empire on the path to capitalism and constitutional monarchy (1861-1917);

7) Soviet Russia - USSR (1917-1991);

8) post-Soviet Russia (1991-2008). Secondly, within each historical period, all “actors” are classified. There is a danger of repeating some information, which the author, contrary to the saying “repetition is the mother of learning,” will try to avoid. This book proposes the following division of historical figures into groups:

1. The first persons of the state, the highest leaders of the country (grand dukes, kings, emperors, general secretaries, presidents).

2. Statesmen (we will not add the epithet “outstanding”),

3. Generals, military leaders (also without adjectives “great”, “famous”, etc.).

4. Leaders of political and social movements.

5. Figures of the Russian Orthodox and other churches (sometimes they talk about religious figures).

6. Leaders, creators in the field of culture (thinkers, philosophers, literary and artistic figures, etc.).

7. Women in the history of Russia (of course, we will talk about the most famous, outstanding, famous female representatives).

8. Heroes and antiheroes.

Thirdly, in approaching each historical person, the author is accustomed to being guided by an analytical scheme that allows him to get the most complete picture of a particular person. In its most truncated form, this diagram looks like this:

1. Dates, main circumstances of the life and death of a particular person, place of burial.

2. Parents, features of personality formation, education, family.

3. Main areas of activity in chronological order (infinite detail and differentiation of material is possible).

4. Personality in the assessment of contemporaries and descendants, unique features, “memorial trail” (monuments, names, etc.).

It should be admitted that there are not enough materials about some of the characters in Russian history, and there is not much chance of filling in some of the “blank spots” in a number of biographies. In this book, the author was not always able to follow the proposed scheme in full, and inquisitive readers will have to look for detailed information in special works. Therefore, in the text itself, in page references and bibliography, relevant literature is recommended.

A study about the subjective factor in Russian history cannot but be subjective, it cannot but reflect the personal experience and life position of any author who undertakes the collection, classification and interpretation of biographical material. One must, apparently, come to terms with the fact that history can never be fully objective, if only because, as a rule, the historian does not have access to some part of the material necessary for a complete, exhaustive analysis. In this regard, operating with mathematical formulas and physical laws is much easier than “getting into the head” of some historical figure in order to understand his actions. Historical reconstruction is complex in itself. And the understanding and assessment of people of past centuries cannot but be influenced by the worldview, value system, and personal experience of each historian, including the author of the work offered to readers.

The book brought to the attention of readers is called “Domestic History in Persons.” By domestic history we mean the history of our country, Russia. The name “Domestic History” today appears in the grade books of all graduates of Russian universities, since the subject under this name is one of the federal disciplines and is mandatory for study in all Russian universities. The guideline for studying “National History” is the State Standard, in force since 1998.

The title “National History in Persons” means the author’s desire to personify our history, to show it through the people who left a certain mark on it. The Russian language is rich, emotional and expressive. The words themselves, assigned to various historical characters, usually already contain a very definite assessment. For the Russian people, assessing the moral character of this or that historical “person” has always been important. Therefore, behind the “faces” and “disguises” there may be hidden “faces” and “persons” that are directly opposite in their human content. In Russian history, as in the history of any other country, there were disgusting, vile people for whom biting and even rude definitions were found in the Russian language. The author of this work openly declares the “subjectivity” of his attitude towards various characters in Russian history, but will try not to impose it. In any case, the way out for any honest historian who claims to be objective is to mention other, including opposing, points of view; if not an exact quotation or statement of a different opinion in the main text, then at least a reference to the works of other authors in notes and bibliography.

All of the above allows us to say that this book is addressed to the widest range of readers: high school students, students, teachers, politicians - everyone who is interested in Russian history.

First of all, of course, “National History in Persons” is offered to beloved students with the hope that, in parallel with the main textbook on this subject, they will read “subjective history” and look at their past, so to speak, in the “human dimension.” And when preparing essays, they will not simply “download” texts from the Internet, but will turn to recommended literature in order to independently delve into the life vicissitudes of some hero or monster of their native history.

The work is addressed to lovers of historical reading with the hope that on their shelves, already lined with historical literature, they will find a place for this book, which, once read, can subsequently be used as a reference book, or by children and grandchildren, or for solving crossword puzzles, etc. .d.

I would like to hope that this book will be acquired by Russian libraries, which, in spite of everything, continue to sow the good, the eternal and the wise.

Maybe someone will leaf through this book before the next election, look at the next “face” and make a truly right choice.

Among the readers, there may be future “faces” of Russian history. Welcome!

Section I
Ancient Rus'
(862-1237)

1.1. First persons of the state, top leaders of the country

1.1.1. Was there Rurik?

In the small cozy Priozersk, a city on the shores of Lake Ladoga in the Leningrad region, no one doubts that the first Russian autocrat found his final refuge somewhere in the surrounding area.

In Staraya Ladoga, in the first stone fortress and the first capital of Ancient Rus', they will show where Rurik came from. Those interested can take pictures on Varyazhskaya Street, where the legendary founder of the Old Russian state may have walked. In Staraya Ladoga (otherwise - Nevograd; Lake Nevo - Lake Ladoga), in accordance with data from Russian chronicles and other sources, it is assumed that Rurik could be a Scandinavian (Swede, Norwegian or Dane 3
Cm.: Azbelev S. N. On the question of the origin of Rurik // Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature: Collection 7. Part P. M., 1994. P. 369.

) and the leader of the Eastern Slavs-Russians, who lived on the Karelian Isthmus and controlled the trade routes “from the Varangians to the Greeks” and “from the Varangians to the Arabs.”

Visitors to Veliky Novgorod are shown the Rurik settlement - the remains of a settlement near Novgorod, on the banks of the Volkhov River, along which Rurik came from Staraya Ladoga to Novgorod, which became the second capital of our state. Novgorodians claim that Rurik was the grandson of the Novgorod elder Gostomysl, the son of his daughter Urmila, a local native, from the local Ilmen Slovenes.

A brief biographical profile of Rurik may look like this. Rurik (Rorik), a completely reliable personality, was born around 817. The son of the Danish (Jutland) king Haldvan, he ruled a number of territories in Western Europe.

In the “near abroad”, in the modern capital of Ukraine, the ancient city of Kyiv, which became the third capital of Ancient Rus', money is issued that depicts the ancestral totem of the Rurik family - a falcon falling on prey with folded wings. In Ukraine, Rurik is considered one of the family nobility of the “Vends” - Western Slavs, the founder of the Ukrainian state, on whose territory the Moscow Principality was formed during the Horde period.

In the Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden) they say that the indomitable Rurik, who had battered various Western countries to his heart’s content, at the end of his life’s journey found his “promised land” in eastern Europe and became the founder of one of the most powerful states in the world. And this cannot but please the pride of the inhabitants of small “Tishlands” in the north of Western Europe.

Rurik. Monument "Millennium of Russia". 1861-1862 Novgorod .

Disputes around the “calling of the Varangians” led by Rurik, Sineus and Truvor have continued for at least two centuries.

At the moment we can talk about some more or less indisputable things.

Firstly, from 862 to 1598 the Russian lands were ruled by the Rurik dynasty. The last Rurikovich was Fyodor Ivanovich, the son of Ivan the Terrible.

Secondly, Rurik was invited or, according to N.M. Karamzin, elected to rule over two Slavic (Ilmen Slovenes and Krivichi) and two Finnish (Ves and Chud) tribes. Rurik was a real ruler. He annexed some other tribes (Meryu, Muromu, Korelu, etc.) to his territory, organized administration and collection of tribute in the controlled territories.

Thirdly, the modern population of the Russian north-west preserves the memory of Rurik (Staraya Ladoga, Novgorod, Priozersk), Sineus (Beloozero) and Truvor (Izborsk), although the Varangian influence on the original local Russian culture is considered very insignificant. Apparently, the Varangians “lived themselves and let others live.” And very quickly they dissolved, assimilated into the warm atmosphere of Slavic hospitality.

Fourthly, the “Norman theory”, the legend about the “calling of the Varangians” is no better and no worse than the various embodiments of the “social contract” model: a compromise with the invitation of an authoritative outside arbitrator is better than an endless war of all against all (“the race stood against genus,” says the “Tale of Bygone Years”).

To the question “Was there Rurik?” Politician amateurs or amateur politicians can easily find an unambiguous answer. Professional historians can characterize the available sources, present various options and limit themselves to a philosophical conclusion: “If Rurik had not existed, he should have been invented!”

In any case, Rurik took his place in the monument “Millennium of Russia”, which was opened in Novgorod in 1862 by Alexander II. Since 1895, the Russian Navy included the cruiser Rurik, which was lost in an unequal battle with four Japanese cruisers in August 1904. Images of the Rurik are given in many biographical and illustrated publications. Regardless of whether Rurik’s grave is found in the vicinity of Priozersk, and what the found objects tell archaeologists and anthropologists, the history of the Russian state will begin with this short and sonorous name - Rurik.

Calling of the Varangians. Miniature from the Radziwill Chronicle .

1.1.2. Prophetic Oleg: prince or governor?

Oleg reigned for 33 years: from 879 to 912. Many legends and traditions are associated with his name and origin. He, being a governor or relative of Rurik, began to rule as regent under his young son Igor. Oleg remained in Novgorod for three years. Then, having recruited an army from the Varangians and the subordinate tribes of Chud, Ilmen Slavs, Meri, Vesi, Krivichi, he moved south. First, he occupied Smolensk and imprisoned “his husband” there, then he moved to the land of the northerners and here, in Lyubech, he also “implanted his husband.” Then the Dulebs, Tiverts and Croats on the left bank of the Dnieper submitted to Oleg. Askold and Dir reigned in Kyiv. According to legend, Oleg lured them out of the city by cunning and killed them. He not only extended his power to Kyiv, one of the largest cities in Eastern Europe at that time, but also made it the official capital of the emerging Old Russian state. “Behold, be the mother of the Russian city,” the Tale of Bygone Years reports Oleg’s words.

Prophetic Oleg .

He built cities, using them to hold conquered peoples in his hands and protect them from attacks by nomads. They imposed tribute on the Ilmen Slavs, Krivichi and Merya. Novgorodians had to pay 300 hryvnia annually for the maintenance of a squad of Varangians. Oleg constantly expanded the boundaries of his possessions and conquered the tribes living east and west of the Dnieper. In 883, he conquered the Drevlyans, who were at enmity with the Polans, and imposed on them a tribute of black marten from housing. The northerners paid tribute to the Khazars; Oleg told the northerners: “I am the enemy of the Khazars, and not you at all,” and the northerners, apparently, agreed to pay tribute to him without resistance. Oleg sent Radimichi to ask: “Who are you giving tribute to?” They answered: “The Khazars.” “Don’t give it to the Khazars, but give it to me,” Oleg ordered to tell them. The Radimichi began to pay tribute to him at the rate of two shelyags per ral, as they had previously paid to the Khazars. It took Oleg a longer time to conquer the Dulebs, Croats, Tiverts, and also the Uglichs.

In 907, Oleg launched a campaign against the Greeks, leaving Igor in Kyiv. At the head of a huge united army of almost all Slavic tribes: the Ilmen Slavs, the Chuds, the Krivichi, the Meri, the Polyans, the Severians, the Drevlyans, the Radimichi, the Croats, the Dulebs and the Tiverts, as well as the Varangians, Oleg made a successful campaign against Tsar Grad (Constantinople). As the Russians approached Constantinople, the Greeks closed the harbor and locked the city. Oleg, whose army moved on ships (according to the chronicle, up to 2000 ships), went onto land and began to devastate the surrounding area, destroy buildings and temples, torture, beat and throw residents into the sea. Further, the chronicle story takes on a completely fantastic character, poorly consistent with the laws of physics. Oleg allegedly ordered the boats to be put on wheels and, with a fair wind, moved towards the city. The Greeks were afraid and asked not to destroy the city. They agreed to pay whatever tribute Oleg would appoint. Oleg also showed his wisdom when the Greeks, having decided to poison Oleg (and they were great masters in making poisons), sent him food and drinks. He did not accept them, and the plan of the insidious Romans failed.

Russian history in the faces of Fortunatov Vladimir Valentinovich

Prince M. M. Shcherbatov

Prince M. M. Shcherbatov

Introduction

In 1862, the monument “Millennium of Russia” was unveiled in the city of Novgorod. The creators of the monument, M. O. Mikeshin and I. N. Schroeder, immortalized 109 figures of educators, statesmen and military figures, writers and artists in the high relief of the monument. The list of names of those who were awarded the monumental incarnation was widely discussed and was approved “at the highest level,” that is, by Emperor Alexander II.

In his “Russian history in the biographies of its most important figures,” published in 1873, N. I. Kostomarov included essays about more than 40 characters in Russian history from the 10th to the 17th centuries. – from Prince Vladimir the Saint to Stenka Razin.

Hundreds, if not thousands of detailed personalities and brief biographical information were published in well-known pre-revolutionary and Soviet encyclopedic publications.

Since the second half of the 1980s. a real “boom” of biographical literature began. The magazines “Domestic History”, “Questions of History”, “New and Contemporary History”, “Motherland” and others regularly published biographical articles. They often preceded the appearance of monographs, brochures, and collections of biographies. Along with central publishing houses, many unique biographical books were published by local publishers.

Popular magazines and newspapers began to publish “ratings” of historical figures, compiled on the basis of special sociological surveys.

The “personal issue” does not leave the agenda of Russian socio-political life. The remains of the Romanov family were reburied and canonized by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000. However, the issue of the Mausoleum of V. I. Lenin on Red Square has not yet been resolved. The remains of the philosopher I. A. Ilyin and the leaders of the white movement, generals A. I. Denikin and V. O. Kappel, were reburied, and at the same time, cases of destruction or desecration of memorial sites were known.

In the conditions of new Russia, over the past 15-20 years, many new monuments, memorial museums, and plaques have appeared. But the opening of new or restoration of old memorial museums is often either hopelessly delayed or even cast into doubt due to the fact that some “very important persons” of Russian history “had the imprudence” to be born or live in houses, places or land plots that they liked modern influential and also rich people.

It is also worth mentioning the powerful stream of feature films and documentaries, in the center of which were hundreds of famous figures of the past.

“...Only in recreating the destinies, behavior, consciousness of historical figures is it possible to imagine the course of history in its entirety multilateral integrity. After all, this move in any of its most varied manifestations - from changes in the economy to the acquisition of a new religion - is embodied in nothing other than actions of people although this does not at all mean that individual people, individuals act entirely consciously and purposefully; in the end they are just live - moreover, together, in unity with many of his contemporaries,” wrote V.V. Kozhinov.

Everyone has heard that the history of any country is primarily influenced by objective factors: climate, terrain, access to the seas, geopolitical position, availability of minerals and other material resources. It is these factors, in one or another combination, that decisively influence the fate of peoples and people who find themselves in a certain territory in a certain historical period. But for some peoples, favorable objective conditions are clearly insufficient for organizing a full-fledged social life and for progressive development. Indian tribes could occupy vast areas of North America for centuries, being in unity with the surrounding nature. White people who came to the lands of the Indians changed the face of North America, and the world as a whole, for several centuries.

Man relatively recently separated from nature, took a special place in it, and created his own special extra-natural world. The conscious activity of people marked the beginning of history as such. The emergence of various forms of community of people, the relationships between these communities, the ways of interaction of people with nature, the whole huge world of the new, which previously did not exist in nature itself, which in the broadest sense is sometimes called culture, became the result of man’s use of his intellect, will, energy, muscular strength and movements of the soul. At the heart of any historical event, process, transformation is the movement of human thought, a certain idea. Most often, a specific historical figure who put forward a particular project, innovation, or idea expresses the general aspirations of his contemporaries or, as they say, the objective needs of the time, pressing tasks. The objectivity of the so-called historical prerequisites in reality turns out to be imaginary, since it represents only a high concentration of desires, aspirations, and readiness for action of many people. Therefore, any fragment of historical development, any historical event, historical fact is a manifestation subjective factor, that is, the objective-practical activity of individual individuals or entire groups of people, which constitutes the active beginning of history.

Historical science uses many tools to describe its subject of study. Using a huge number of designations for specific objects, general concepts and particular characteristics, historians sometimes forget that modern man acts in a different objective world and is not always able to delve into the realities of the past. Perhaps in our country many people do not know history well because, in the form in which it is presented, it is difficult to understand. If we concentrate on destinies people who made Russian history and entered its annals, then such an approach can contribute to the formation of a different understanding of the events of the past. Indeed, in the actions of many historical figures, not only a certain historical predicament, an “iron” pattern determined by “objective prerequisites” was manifested, but also features of upbringing, personal psychology, the totality of human qualities, the influence of other people, and much more.

In the book offered to the reader, for the first time in historical popular science literature, an attempt is made to present the events of Russian history through the biographies of specific people at all stages of our historical development “from Rurik” to the present day. Against the backdrop of modern “desolation”, the history of Russia amazes with its large population and the richness of human destinies. However, back in the century before last it was said: “Yes, there were people in our time, not like the current tribe...”. It’s not even hundreds, but thousands of people who “ask” to be included in this book. But the volume of the book is limited. In such a situation, one cannot help but resort to some systematization and structuring of the material used.

Firstly, there is an established periodization of national history, which has fully justified itself in organizing the educational process. In accordance with the nature of the political system of Russia, the following historical periods in the development of our Fatherland are usually distinguished:

1) pre-state period (until the 9th century);

2) Ancient Rus' - an early feudal state (862-1237);

3) Russian lands as part of the Golden Horde (1243-1480);

4) Muscovy - estate-representative monarchy (1480-1700);

5) The Russian Empire as an absolute monarchy (1700-1860);

6) The Russian Empire on the path to capitalism and constitutional monarchy (1861-1917);

7) Soviet Russia - USSR (1917-1991);

8) post-Soviet Russia (1991-2008). Secondly, within each historical period, all “actors” are classified. There is a danger of repeating some information, which the author, contrary to the saying “repetition is the mother of learning,” will try to avoid. This book proposes the following division of historical figures into groups:

1. The first persons of the state, the highest leaders of the country (grand dukes, kings, emperors, general secretaries, presidents).

2. Statesmen (we will not add the epithet “outstanding”),

3. Generals, military leaders (also without adjectives “great”, “famous”, etc.).

4. Leaders of political and social movements.

5. Figures of the Russian Orthodox and other churches (sometimes they talk about religious figures).

6. Leaders, creators in the field of culture (thinkers, philosophers, literary and artistic figures, etc.).

7. Women in the history of Russia (of course, we will talk about the most famous, outstanding, famous female representatives).

8. Heroes and antiheroes.

Thirdly, in approaching each historical person, the author is accustomed to being guided by an analytical scheme that allows him to get the most complete picture of a particular person. In its most truncated form, this diagram looks like this:

1. Dates, main circumstances of the life and death of a particular person, place of burial.

2. Parents, features of personality formation, education, family.

3. Main areas of activity in chronological order (infinite detail and differentiation of material is possible).

4. Personality in the assessment of contemporaries and descendants, unique features, “memorial trail” (monuments, names, etc.).

It should be admitted that there are not enough materials about some of the characters in Russian history, and there is not much chance of filling in some of the “blank spots” in a number of biographies. In this book, the author was not always able to follow the proposed scheme in full, and inquisitive readers will have to look for detailed information in special works. Therefore, in the text itself, in page references and bibliography, relevant literature is recommended.

A study about the subjective factor in Russian history cannot but be subjective, it cannot but reflect the personal experience and life position of any author who undertakes the collection, classification and interpretation of biographical material. One must, apparently, come to terms with the fact that history can never be fully objective, if only because, as a rule, the historian does not have access to some part of the material necessary for a complete, exhaustive analysis. In this regard, operating with mathematical formulas and physical laws is much easier than “getting into the head” of some historical figure in order to understand his actions. Historical reconstruction is complex in itself. And the understanding and assessment of people of past centuries cannot but be influenced by the worldview, value system, and personal experience of each historian, including the author of the work offered to readers.

The book brought to the attention of readers is called “Domestic History in Persons.” By domestic history we mean the history of our country, Russia. The name “Domestic History” today appears in the grade books of all graduates of Russian universities, since the subject under this name is one of the federal disciplines and is mandatory for study in all Russian universities. The guideline for studying “National History” is the State Standard, in force since 1998.

The title “National History in Persons” means the author’s desire to personify our history, to show it through the people who left a certain mark on it. The Russian language is rich, emotional and expressive. The words themselves, assigned to various historical characters, usually already contain a very definite assessment. For the Russian people, assessing the moral character of this or that historical “person” has always been important. Therefore, behind the “faces” and “disguises” there may be hidden “faces” and “persons” that are directly opposite in their human content. In Russian history, as in the history of any other country, there were disgusting, vile people for whom biting and even rude definitions were found in the Russian language. The author of this work openly declares the “subjectivity” of his attitude towards various characters in Russian history, but will try not to impose it. In any case, the way out for any honest historian who claims to be objective is to mention other, including opposing, points of view; if not an exact quotation or statement of a different opinion in the main text, then at least a reference to the works of other authors in notes and bibliography.

All of the above allows us to say that this book is addressed to the widest range of readers: high school students, students, teachers, politicians - everyone who is interested in Russian history.

First of all, of course, “National History in Persons” is offered to beloved students with the hope that, in parallel with the main textbook on this subject, they will read “subjective history” and look at their past, so to speak, in the “human dimension.” And when preparing essays, they will not simply “download” texts from the Internet, but will turn to recommended literature in order to independently delve into the life vicissitudes of some hero or monster of their native history.

The work is addressed to lovers of historical reading with the hope that on their shelves, already lined with historical literature, they will find a place for this book, which, once read, can subsequently be used as a reference book, or by children and grandchildren, or for solving crossword puzzles, etc. .d.

I would like to hope that this book will be acquired by Russian libraries, which, in spite of everything, continue to sow the good, the eternal and the wise.

Maybe someone will leaf through this book before the next election, look at the next “face” and make a truly right choice.

Among the readers, there may be future “faces” of Russian history. Welcome!