The figure of the historian Mikhail Nikolaevich Pokrovsky is quite controversial in Russian historiography. On the one hand, in many respects it was on his shoulders that the task of creating a new, revolutionary historical science fell. At first glance, he successfully coped with this, creating an original concept of historical development from the standpoint of Marxism. On the other hand, already in Soviet times, many provisions of Pokrovsky's theory were subjected to severe criticism, and his school was destroyed. The reason for this is not only the anti-science of some of his constructions, but also the flywheel of Stalinist repressions, which turned the country from the romance of the first days of the revolution to the reconstruction of its imperial image. Mikhail Nikolaevich Pokrovsky's view of Russian history turned out to be deeply hostile to the new trend and was therefore ruthlessly discarded.
Childhood of a historian
He was born on August 29, 1868 in Moscow in the family of an official of the Russian Empire. His childhood fell on a particularly acute period of confrontation between the authorities and society, expressed in a seriesterrorist acts directed both against the highest dignitaries of the empire and against representatives of the ruling dynasty. One way or another, everyone was drawn into this confrontation. The parents of Mikhail Nikolaevich Pokrovsky, although they were nobles, were more sympathetic to the liberation movement. The atmosphere in the Pokrovsky family contributed to the development of freethinking.
Mikhail Nikolaevich showed interest in history already in childhood. Other sciences were easily given to him. In 1887, he graduated from the Second Moscow Gymnasium with a gold medal and entered Moscow University, from which he graduated with a first degree diploma in 1891.
Becoming
The recognized leader of historical science in those years was Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky, whose lectures were very popular. The views of the young Mikhail Nikolaevich Pokrovsky were formed precisely under the influence of Klyuchevsky's concept, which is demonstrated by the content of the courses that he taught after graduation from the university in various Moscow educational institutions. But by the end of the century the situation is changing. Pokrovsky gets acquainted with the doctrine of legal Marxism, which was preached by Plekhanov. The focus of the lectures and their content change significantly, and a clear anti-state subtext appears in them. For this reason, he was not allowed to defend his master's thesis, and in 1902 Pokrovsky's lectures were also banned.
In the circle of social democrats
The first history books written by Pokrovsky usedhuge popularity among the revolutionary youth. In the liberal movement, Pokrovsky very soon became disillusioned and joined the Social Democrats, whose printed organ was the Pravda newspaper, where the historian published some of his articles. A significant date in the biography of Mikhail Nikolaevich Pokrovsky is 1905: in April he joins the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, and in the summer he meets in Geneva its prominent theoretician and leader of the Bolshevik wing, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Returning to Russia, Pokrovsky heads the lecture group of the Moscow Committee, actively publishes in Bolshevik publications.
Emigration
One of the most important achievements of the revolutionary movement was the Manifesto of October 17, 1905, guaranteeing the inhabitants of the Russian Empire basic democratic freedoms, as well as the opportunity to participate in the formation of Russian legislation through elections to the State Duma. Although the guarantees given by the government looked unreliable, society tried to take advantage of them by nominating its leaders to the Duma. In October 1906, Mikhail Nikolaevich Pokrovsky took part in the elections. At the same time, he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the RSDLP.
The activity of the historian caused dissatisfaction with the authorities. Surveillance was begun on him, and the publication of his works was incessantly forbidden. As a result, Pokrovsky decided to leave Russia. In 1907, he moved to Finland (then an autonomous principality within the Russian Empire), and from there to France.
Michael in exileNikolaevich Pokrovsky wrote the main work of his life - the five-volume Russian History from Ancient Times, published from 1910 to 1913. In this work, he criticized the concept of Klyuchevsky and other liberal historians, and he illuminated the entire historical path of Russia from Rurik to Nicholas II from the position of Marxism. After some time, another fundamental work of Pokrovsky came out: "An Essay on the History of Russian Culture".
Return
In August 1917, Pokrovsky returned to Russia. Immediately he is restored to the party and actively participates in the preparation of the October Revolution. During this period, the study of history fades into the background. Pokrovsky is looking for money to pay wages to workers, publishes articles in which he analyzes the course of the revolution.
The activity of Pokrovsky does not go unnoticed by the party elite. He is involved in work in the commission for establishing relations between the revolutionary government and foreign states. However, foreign policy had to be abandoned with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Pokrovsky doubted that the proletariat of European countries would join the revolution, so he considered it necessary to continue the war. He considered the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk morally terrible.
In the system of Soviet power
In 1918, Pokrovsky became a member of the government and received the post of Deputy People's Commissar of Education of the RSFSR, which he held until his death. In parallel with the performance of administrative duties, the historian is engaged inscience and teaching. Pokrovsky participated in the organization of the Socialist Academy, the Institute of History at the Academy of Sciences. He is an active contributor to various journals and also serves as editor of some of them.
As an ideologue of a new historical concept, Pokrovsky often attends international conferences of historians, where he defends his methodology for studying the history of Russia. As a prominent party functionary, he supports Stalin's faction in the fight against Trotsky's line.
Last years and death
In 1929, Mikhail Nikolaevich Pokrovsky became an academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In fact, this is his last success. In the scientific community and party circles, his views on history are increasingly being criticized. It is not known how the fate of Pokrovsky would have developed under Stalin: in 1929 he was diagnosed with cancer. The historian struggled with the disease for three years. At the same time, he did not stop engaging in scientific and political activities: he attended party conferences, was a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks.
April 10, 1932 Pokrovsky died. And although the attitude towards him was ambiguous, the Soviet authorities rendered the last honors to the historian. His body was cremated, and the urn with the ashes was immured in the Kremlin wall on Red Square.
The concept of Pokrovsky's story
Mikhail Nikolaevich formulated an aphorism that most accurately reflects his views on his science: "History is politics overturned inthe past." Hence the main flaw in his conception, which even pre-revolutionary critics paid attention to. The ideology in Pokrovsky's teaching prevails over the content of his scientific research.
Pokrovsky was the first historian to apply Marx's theory of changing social and economic formations to the history of Russia. The materialist approach expressed itself in the fact that, wherever possible, he sought to demonstrate the truth of this theory, finding examples in the conquests of the Russian tsars, peasant uprisings and the characteristics of the colonization of Siberia. Based on the legislative sources and act materials of Ancient Russia, Pokrovsky tried to prove the fallacy of the views of historians, proving the absence of signs of the existence of feudalism in Russia.
The theory of trading capital became the basis of Pokrovsky's concept. In his history books, he argued that it was merchant capital that determined the development of Russian society in the 16th-19th centuries. It was with the aim of accumulating and then implementing it that the Russian elite of these years took measures to enslave the peasantry and initiated numerous campaigns of conquest, which resulted in the formation of an empire.
Meaning of Pokrovsky
In the memory of many historians, Pokrovsky remained as a party functionary, ready to disregard the truth for the sake of realizing ideological needs. With his active participation, the old school of teaching history was destroyed, professors were expelled, and in schools the history course was replaced by civics.
Already at the end of the historian's life, criticism of his concepts unfolded. After Pokrovsky's death, this trend only intensified. In 1936, almost on the direct orders of Stalin, who was dissatisfied with the fact that the late historian did not cover his participation in the revolution in the way the leader would like, the “Pokrovsky school” was dispersed, and his assessments of such historical figures as Ivan the Terrible and Peter I declared wrecking and counter-revolutionary.
Only in 1962 the scientist and his concept were rehabilitated. With all the distortions and shortcomings of his teaching, modern researchers recognize the presence and positive influence of his view of history. Thanks to Pokrovsky, it became clear that the ancient history of Russia does not represent a refined and idealized picture that conservative historians painted in their writings. Pokrovsky showed the existence of a struggle between the people and power, and also contributed to an increase in interest in the socio-economic aspects of Russian history.
