Vasily Klyuchevsky (1841–1911) is the largest and one of the most prominent Russian historians of the second half of the 19th century. He is rightfully considered the founder of bourgeois economism in Russian historiography, since he was the first to pay close attention to the study of folk life and the economic foundations of social life.
Some information about the youth of the historian
Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich, whose brief biography is presented in this section, was born in 1841 in the Penza province. He was the son of a village priest. Both his grandfather and great-grandfather were also priests. Therefore, church teaching had a great influence on him. The researcher retained his interest in Orthodox history for the rest of his life: his first dissertation was devoted to the lives of the saints, and in his famous courses on Russian history, he invariably turned to the spiritual development of the people and the role of Orthodoxy in the country's past.
Vasily Klyuchevsky studied at the Penza parish school and the Penza seminary, but decided to devote himself to the secular science of history. He was attracted by the Faculty of History and Philology of the Moscowuniversity, which was the center of social and political life at the time in question. However, church education had a great influence on him. The historian himself admitted that the study of scholasticism developed in him the ability to think logically.
Years of study and early research
Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich, whose brief biography is continued in this section, studied at Moscow University for four years. This time became decisive in the choice of his profession and research topics. The lectures of the historian F. Buslaev had a great influence on him. At the same time, the future scientist became very interested in folk culture, folklore, sayings, proverbs.
Vasily Klyuchevsky decided to devote himself to studying the foundations of folk life, as he put it. His first dissertation was devoted to a thorough study of hagiographic literature. Before him, none of the domestic historians de alt with this topic in such detail. Another major study is devoted to the study of the composition of the Boyar Duma. Vasily Klyuchevsky very carefully analyzed those social strata that were part of this advisory body under the Russian princes and tsars. His work opened up new approaches in historiography in the study of the social structure of society. His methodology included a detailed analysis of all manifestations of the life and way of life of the common people, which was especially important for Russia in the second half of the 19th century after the abolition of serfdom.
Works onstories
Vasily Klyuchevsky, whose biography was briefly presented in the previous sections, is known as the author of the famous course of lectures that he gave for several decades. Being an excellent speaker, he had an excellent command of the literary language, which made his speeches especially vivid and expressive. Thanks to the apt and witty remarks and conclusions with which he accompanied his scientific reasoning, his lectures gained particular popularity. Vasily Klyuchevsky, whose history of Russia became a real standard not only for his students, but also for many other domestic scientists, also became famous as a thoughtful observer of the life of the Russian people. Before him, researchers, as a rule, paid attention to political events and facts, so his work, without exaggeration, can be called a real breakthrough in historiography.
Scientist language
A feature of Klyuchevsky's vocabulary is expressiveness, accuracy and brightness of statements. The researcher was able to very clearly express his thoughts on a variety of problems of the present and the past. For example, he owns the following statement about the reforms of the first Russian emperor: "There is always a lot of rubbish left from a large construction site, and a lot of goodness was lost in Peter's hasty work." The historian often resorted to comparisons and metaphors of this kind, which, while distinguished by wit, nevertheless conveyed his thoughts very well.
It is interesting his statement about Catherine II, whom he called the last accidenton the Russian throne. The scientist quite often resorted to such comparisons, which made it possible to better assimilate the material covered. Many expressions of Klyuchevsky have become a kind of saying in Russian historiography. Often, his phrases are referred to in order to give expressiveness to reasoning. Many of his words have become aphorisms. For example, the saying “In Russia, the center is on the periphery” almost immediately became popular: it can often be found in the press, at symposiums, and conferences.
Scientist about history and life
Klyuchevsky's thoughts are distinguished by originality and originality. So, in his own way, he remade the famous Latin proverb that history teaches life: "History does not teach anything, but only punishes for ignorance of the lessons." The accuracy, clarity and brightness of the language brought the scientist not only all-Russian, but also world fame: many foreign researchers, studying the history of Russia, refer specifically to his works. Of interest are those aphorisms of the historian in which he expressed his attitude not only to history, but also to general philosophical problems in general: “Life is not about living, but about feeling that you are living.”
Some facts from the biography
In conclusion, we should point out some interesting moments from the life of this outstanding researcher. The future researcher learned to read at the age of four and from early childhood showed an amazing ability to learn. At the same time, he struggled with stuttering and, as a result of great efforts, managed to overcome this defect and become brilliant.speaker. He took part in the famous Peterhof meetings on the drafting of the Duma, and also ran as a deputy from the Cadets, but did not pass. So, Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich, whose biography and work became the subject of this study, is one of the leading domestic specialists in the study of Russian history.
