Sergei Platonov - a complete course of lectures on Russian history. Platonov S. Full course of lectures on Russian history Sergei Platonov lectures on Russian history
It would be appropriate to begin our studies of Russian history by defining what exactly should be understood by the words historical knowledge, historical science. Having understood for ourselves how history is understood in general, we will understand what we should understand by the history of any one people, and we will consciously begin to study Russian history.
History existed in ancient times, although at that time it was not considered a science. Acquaintance with ancient historians, Herodotus and Thucydides, for example, will show you that the Greeks were right in their own way, referring history to the realm of the arts. By history they mean fictional story about memorable events and people. The task of the historian was for them to convey to listeners and readers, along with aesthetic pleasure, a number of moral edifications. Art pursued the same goals.
With such a view of history as an artistic story about memorable events, ancient historians also adhered to the corresponding methods of presentation. In their narration, they strove for truth and accuracy, but they did not have a strict objective measure of truth. The deeply truthful Herodotus, for example, has many fables (about Egypt, about the Scythians, etc.); he believes in some, because he does not know the limits of the natural, while others, and not believing in them, he brings into his story, because they seduce him with their artistic interest. Moreover, the ancient historian, true to his artistic tasks, considered it possible to decorate the narrative with conscious fiction. Thucydides, whose veracity we have no doubt, puts speeches composed by himself into the mouths of his heroes, but he considers himself right because he faithfully conveys in an invented form the real intentions and thoughts of historical persons.
Thus, the desire for accuracy and truth in history has been to some extent limited by the desire for artistry and entertainment, not to mention other conditions that have prevented historians from successfully distinguishing truth from fable. Despite this, the desire for accurate knowledge already in antiquity requires pragmatism from the historian. Already in Herodotus we observe the manifestation of this pragmatism, i.e., the desire to link facts by causality, not only to tell them, but also to explain their origin from the past.
So, at first, history is defined as an artistic and pragmatic story about memorable events and faces.
Such views on history go back to the times of ancient times, which demanded from it, in addition to artistic impressions, practical applicability. Even the ancients said that history is the teacher of life (magistra vitae). They expected from historians such a presentation of the past life of mankind, which would explain the events of the present and the tasks of the future, would serve as a practical guide for public figures and a moral school for other people. This view of history was held in full force in the Middle Ages and has survived to our times; on the one hand, he directly brought history closer to moral philosophy, on the other hand, he turned history into a “tablet of revelations and rules” of a practical nature. A 17th century writer (De Rocoles) said that "history performs the duties inherent in moral philosophy, and even in a certain respect can be preferred to it, since, giving the same rules, it adds examples to them." On the first page of Karamzin's "History of the Russian State" you will find an expression of the idea that history must be known in order "to establish order, agree on the benefits of people and give them the happiness possible on earth."
With the development of Western European philosophical thought new definitions of historical science began to take shape. In an effort to explain the essence and meaning of human life, thinkers turned to the study of history either in order to find a solution to their problem in it, or in order to confirm their abstract constructions with historical data. In accordance with various philosophical systems, the goals and meaning of history itself were determined in one way or another. Here are some of these definitions: Bossuet (1627-1704) and Laurent (1810-1887) understood history as an image of those world events in which the paths of Providence, guiding human life for your purposes. The Italian Vico (1668-1744) considered the task of history as a science to be the depiction of those identical states that all peoples are destined to experience. The famous philosopher Hegel (1770-1831) saw in history an image of the process by which the "absolute spirit" achieved its self-knowledge (Hegel explained the entire world life as the development of this "absolute spirit"). It will not be a mistake to say that all these philosophies require essentially the same thing from history: history should not depict all the facts of the past life of mankind, but only the main ones that reveal its general meaning.
This view was a step forward in the development of historical thought - a simple story about the past in general, or a random collection of facts from different times and places to prove an edifying thought no longer satisfied. There was a desire to unite the presentation of the guiding idea, the systematization of historical material. However, philosophical history is rightly reproached for taking the guiding ideas of historical presentation outside of history and systematizing the facts arbitrarily. From this, history did not become an independent science, but turned into a servant of philosophy.
History became a science only in early XIX century, when idealism developed from Germany, in opposition to French rationalism: in opposition to French cosmopolitanism, the ideas of nationalism spread, national antiquity was actively studied and the conviction began to dominate that the life of human societies takes place naturally, in such an order of natural succession that cannot be violated and changed neither by chance nor by the efforts of individuals. From this point of view, the main interest in history came to be the study not of random external phenomena and not the activities of prominent personalities, but the study of social life at different stages of its development. History began to be understood as the science of the laws of the historical life of human societies.
This definition has been formulated differently by historians and thinkers. The famous Guizot (1787-1874), for example, understood history as a doctrine of world and national civilization (understanding civilization in the sense of the development of civil society). The philosopher Schelling (1775-1854) considered national history to be a means of knowing the "national spirit". From this grew the widespread definition of history as a path to popular self-consciousness. There were further attempts to understand history as a science that should reveal the general laws of the development of social life without applying them to a certain place, time and people. But these attempts, in essence, appropriated the tasks of another science, sociology, to history. History, on the other hand, is a science that studies concrete facts under the conditions of precisely time and place, and its main goal is recognized as a systematic depiction of the development and changes in the life of individual historical societies and all of humanity.
Such a task requires a lot to be successful. In order to give a scientifically accurate and artistically complete picture of any era of folk life or the complete history of a people, it is necessary: 1) to collect historical materials, 2) to investigate their reliability, 3) to restore exactly individual historical facts 4) indicate a pragmatic connection between them and 5) bring them into a general scientific overview or into an artistic picture. The ways in which historians achieve these particular goals are called scientific critical devices. These methods are improved with the development of historical science, but so far neither these methods nor the science of history itself have reached their full development. Historians have not yet collected and studied all the material that is subject to their knowledge, and this gives reason to say that history is a science that has not yet achieved the results that other, more accurate sciences have achieved. And, however, no one denies that history is a science with a broad future.
Sergei Fyodorovich Platonov
Full course of lectures on Russian history
Essay on Russian historiography
Overview of the sources of Russian history
PART ONE
Preliminary historical information ancient history of our country Russian Slavs and their neighbors The initial life of the Russian Slavs Kievan Rus Formation of the Kiev principality General remarks about the early times of the Kiev principality Baptism of Rus Consequences of the adoption of Christianity by Rus Kyiv Rus in XI-XII centuries Colonization of Suzdal-Vladimir Rus Influence of Tatar power on appanage Rus Specific way of life of Suzdal-Vladimir Rus Novgorod Pskov Lithuania Moscow principality until the middle of the 15th century Time of Grand Duke Ivan III
PART TWO
The time of Ivan the Terrible Muscovy before the Troubles Political contradiction in Moscow life in the 16th century Social contradiction in Moscow life in the 16th century Troubles in the Muscovite state The first period of Troubles: the struggle for the Moscow throne The second period of Troubles: destruction public order The third period of unrest: an attempt to restore order The time of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich (1613-1645) The time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676) The internal activities of the government of Alexei Mikhailovich Church affairs under Alexei Mikhailovich A cultural turning point under Alexei Mikhailovich The personality of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich The main moments in the history of South and Western Russia in XVI-XVII centuries Time of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich (1676-1682)
PART THREE
The views of science and Russian society on Peter the Great The position of Moscow politics and life in late XVII century Time of Peter the Great Childhood and adolescence of Peter (1672-1689) Years 1689-1699 Foreign policy Peter's since 1700 Peter's internal activities since 1700 The attitude of contemporaries to Peter's activities Peter's family relations Historical meaning activities of Peter The time from the death of Peter the Great to the accession to the throne of Elizabeth (1725-1741) Palace events from 1725 to 1741 Management and politics from 1725 to 1741 The time of Elizabeth Petrovna (1741-1761) Management and politics of the time of Elizabeth Peter III and the coup of 1762 Time of Catherine II (1762-1796) Legislative activity of Catherine II Foreign policy of Catherine II The historical significance of the activities of Catherine II Time of Paul I (1796-1801) Time of Alexander I (1801-1825) Time of Nicholas I (1825-1855) A brief overview of the time of the emperor Alexander II and great reforms
These "Lectures" owe their first appearance in print to the energy and labor of my listeners at the Military Law Academy, I. A. Blinov and R. R. von Raupach. They collected and put in order all those "lithographed notes" that were published by students in different years of my teaching. Although some parts of these "notes" were compiled according to the texts I submitted, however, in general, the first editions of the "Lectures" did not differ in either internal integrity or external decoration, representing a collection of different time and different quality educational records. Through the work of I. A. Blinov, the fourth edition of the Lectures acquired a much more serviceable form, and for the next editions the text of the Lectures was also revised by me personally. In particular, in the eighth edition, the revision mainly touched upon those parts of the book that are devoted to the history of the Moscow principality in the 14th-15th centuries. and the history of the reigns of Nicholas I and Alexander II. To strengthen the factual side of the presentation in these parts of the course, I drew on some excerpts from my "Textbook of Russian History" with the corresponding changes in the text, just as in previous editions inserts were made from there into the history department Kievan Rus until the 12th century. In addition, in the eighth edition, the characteristics of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich were re-stated. In the ninth edition, the necessary, generally minor, corrections have been made. For the tenth edition, the text has been revised. Nevertheless, in its present form, the "Lectures" are still far from the desired serviceability. Live teaching and scientific work have a continuous influence on the lecturer, changing not only the particulars, but sometimes the very type of his presentation. In the "Lectures" you can see only the factual material on which the author's courses are usually built. Of course, some oversights and errors still remain in the printed transmission of this material; likewise, the structure of the presentation in the "Lectures" very often does not correspond to the structure of the oral presentation, which I adhere to in last years. It is only with these reservations that I make up my mind to publish the present edition of the Lectures.
S. Platonov
Introduction (Summary)
It would be appropriate to begin our studies of Russian history by defining what exactly should be understood by the words historical knowledge, historical science.
Having understood for ourselves how history is understood in general, we will understand what we should understand by the history of any one people, and we will consciously begin to study Russian history.
History existed in ancient times, although at that time it was not considered a science.
Acquaintance with ancient historians, Herodotus and Thucydides, for example, will show you that the Greeks were right in their own way, referring history to the realm of the arts. By history they understood an artistic story about memorable events and persons. The task of the historian was for them to convey to listeners and readers, along with aesthetic pleasure, a number of moral edifications. Art pursued the same goals.
With such a view of history as an artistic story about memorable events, ancient historians also adhered to the corresponding methods of presentation. In their narration, they strove for truth and accuracy, but they did not have a strict objective measure of truth. The deeply truthful Herodotus, for example, has many fables (about Egypt, about the Scythians, etc.); he believes in some, because he does not know the limits of the natural, while others, and not believing in them, he brings into his story, because they seduce him with their artistic interest. Moreover, the ancient historian, true to his artistic tasks, considered it possible to decorate the narrative with conscious fiction. Thucydides, whose veracity we have no doubt, puts speeches composed by himself into the mouths of his heroes, but he considers himself right because he faithfully conveys in an invented form the real intentions and thoughts of historical persons.
Thus, the desire for accuracy and truth in history has been to some extent limited by the desire for artistry and entertainment, not to mention other conditions that have prevented historians from successfully distinguishing truth from fable. Despite this, the desire for accurate knowledge already in antiquity requires pragmatism from the historian. Already in Herodotus we observe the manifestation of this pragmatism, i.e., the desire to link facts by causality, not only to tell them, but also to explain their origin from the past.
So, at first, history is defined as an artistic and pragmatic story about memorable events and faces.
Such views on history go back to the times of ancient times, which demanded from it, in addition to artistic impressions, practical applicability.
Even the ancients said that history is the teacher of life (magistra vitae). They expected from historians such a presentation of the past life of mankind, which would explain the events of the present and the tasks of the future, would serve as a practical guide for public figures and a moral school for other people.
This view of history was held in full force in the Middle Ages and has survived to our times; on the one hand, he directly brought history closer to moral philosophy, on the other hand, he turned history into a "tablet of revelations and rules" of a practical nature. A 17th century writer (De Rocoles) said that "history performs the duties inherent in moral philosophy, and even in a certain respect can be preferred to it, since, giving the same rules, it adds examples to them." On the first page of Karamzin's "History of the Russian State" you will find an expression of the idea that history must be known in order "to establish order, to agree on the benefits of people and to give them the happiness possible on earth."
With the development of Western European philosophical thought, new definitions of historical science began to take shape. In an effort to explain the essence and meaning of human life, thinkers turned to the study of history either in order to find a solution to their problem in it, or in order to confirm their abstract constructions with historical data. In accordance with various philosophical systems, the goals and meaning of history itself were determined in one way or another. Here are some of these definitions: Bossuet (1627-1704) and Laurent (1810-1887) understood history as an image of those world events in which the ways of Providence, guiding human life for its own purposes, were expressed with particular brightness. The Italian Vico (1668-1744) considered the task of history as a science to be the depiction of those identical states that all peoples are destined to experience. The famous philosopher Hegel (1770-1831) saw in history an image of the process by which the "absolute spirit" reached its self-knowledge (Hegel explained the entire world life as the development of this "absolute spirit"). It will not be a mistake to say that all these philosophies require essentially the same thing from history: history should not depict all the facts of the past life of mankind, but only the main ones that reveal its general meaning.
These "Lectures" owe their first appearance in print to the energy and labor of my listeners at the Military Law Academy, I. A. Blinov and R. R. von Raupach. They collected and put in order all those "lithographed notes" that were published by students in different years of my teaching. Although some parts of these "notes" were compiled according to the texts I submitted, however, in general, the first editions of the "Lectures" did not differ in either internal integrity or external decoration, representing a collection of different time and different quality educational records. Through the work of I. A. Blinov, the fourth edition of the Lectures acquired a much more serviceable form, and for the next editions the text of the Lectures was also revised by me personally.
In particular, in the eighth edition, the revision mainly touched upon those parts of the book that are devoted to the history of the Moscow principality in the 14th-15th centuries. and the history of the reigns of Nicholas I and Alexander II. In order to strengthen the factual side of the exposition in these parts of the course, I drew on some excerpts from my "Textbook of Russian History" with the corresponding changes in the text, just as in previous editions inserts were made from there into the department of the history of Kievan Rus until the XII century. In addition, in the eighth edition, the characteristics of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich were re-stated. In the ninth edition, the necessary, generally minor, corrections have been made. For the tenth edition, the text has been revised.
Nevertheless, in its present form, the "Lectures" are still far from the desired serviceability. Live teaching and scientific work have a continuous influence on the lecturer, changing not only the particulars, but sometimes the very type of his presentation. In the "Lectures" you can see only the factual material on which the author's courses are usually built. Of course, some oversights and errors still remain in the printed transmission of this material; likewise, the construction of the presentation in the "Lectures" very often does not correspond to the structure of the oral presentation, which I have been following in recent years.
It is only with these reservations that I make up my mind to publish the present edition of the Lectures.
Sergei Fyodorovich Platonov
Full course of lectures on Russian history
Essay on Russian historiography
Overview of the sources of Russian history
PART ONE
Preliminary historical information The most ancient history of our country The Russian Slavs and their neighbors The initial life of the Russian Slavs Kievan Rus Formation of the Kievan principality General remarks about the early times of the Kievan principality Baptism of Rus Consequences of the adoption of Christianity by Rus Kievan Rus in the XI-XII centuries specific Russia Specific life of Suzdal-Vladimir Rus Novgorod Pskov Lithuania Moscow principality until the middle of the 15th century Time of Grand Duke Ivan III
PART TWO
Time of Ivan the Terrible Muscovy before the Troubles Political contradiction in Moscow life in the 16th century Social contradiction in Moscow life in the 16th century Troubles in the Muscovite state Fedorovich (1613-1645) The time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676) The internal activities of the government of Alexei Mikhailovich Church affairs under Alexei Mikhailovich A cultural turning point under Alexei Mikhailovich The personality of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich The main moments in the history of Southern and Western Russia in the 16th-17th centuries The time of Tsar Fedor Alekseevich (1676-1682)
PART THREE
The views of science and Russian society on Peter the Great The state of Moscow politics and life at the end of the 17th century The time of Peter the Great Childhood and adolescence of Peter (1672-1689) Years 1689-1699 Peter's foreign policy since 1700 Peter's internal activities since 1700 The attitude of contemporaries to Peter's activities Peter's family relations The historical significance of Peter's activities The time from the death of Peter the Great to the accession to the throne of Elizabeth (1725-1741) Palace events from 1725 to 1741 Management and politics from 1725 to 1741 The time of Elizabeth Petrovna (1741-1761) The management and politics of Elizabeth's time Peter III and the coup of 1762 The time of Catherine II (1762-1796) The legislative activity of Catherine II The foreign policy of Catherine II The historical significance of the activities of Catherine II The time of Paul I (1796-1801) The time of Alexander I (1801-1825) The time of Nicholas I (1825-1855 ) A brief overview of the time of Emperor Alexander II and the great reforms
These "Lectures" owe their first appearance in print to the energy and labor of my listeners at the Military Law Academy, I. A. Blinov and R. R. von Raupach. They collected and put in order all those "lithographed notes" that were published by students in different years of my teaching. Although some parts of these "notes" were compiled according to the texts I submitted, however, in general, the first editions of the "Lectures" did not differ in either internal integrity or external decoration, representing a collection of different time and different quality educational records. Through the work of I. A. Blinov, the fourth edition of the Lectures acquired a much more serviceable form, and for the next editions the text of the Lectures was also revised by me personally. In particular, in the eighth edition, the revision mainly touched upon those parts of the book that are devoted to the history of the Moscow principality in the 14th-15th centuries. and the history of the reigns of Nicholas I and Alexander II. In order to strengthen the factual side of the exposition in these parts of the course, I drew on some excerpts from my "Textbook of Russian History" with the corresponding changes in the text, just as in previous editions inserts were made from there into the department of the history of Kievan Rus until the XII century. In addition, in the eighth edition, the characteristics of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich were re-stated. In the ninth edition, the necessary, generally minor, corrections have been made. For the tenth edition, the text has been revised. Nevertheless, in its present form, the "Lectures" are still far from the desired serviceability. Live teaching and scientific work have a continuous influence on the lecturer, changing not only the particulars, but sometimes the very type of his presentation. In the "Lectures" you can see only the factual material on which the author's courses are usually built. Of course, some oversights and errors still remain in the printed transmission of this material; likewise, the construction of the presentation in the "Lectures" very often does not correspond to the structure of the oral presentation, which I have been following in recent years. It is only with these reservations that I make up my mind to publish the present edition of the Lectures.
S. Platonov
Introduction (Summary)
It would be appropriate to begin our studies of Russian history by defining what exactly should be understood by the words historical knowledge, historical science.
Having understood for ourselves how history is understood in general, we will understand what we should understand by the history of any one people, and we will consciously begin to study Russian history.
History existed in ancient times, although at that time it was not considered a science.
Acquaintance with ancient historians, Herodotus and Thucydides, for example, will show you that the Greeks were right in their own way, referring history to the realm of the arts. By history they understood an artistic story about memorable events and persons. The task of the historian was for them to convey to listeners and readers, along with aesthetic pleasure, a number of moral edifications. Art pursued the same goals.
With such a view of history as an artistic story about memorable events, ancient historians also adhered to the corresponding methods of presentation. In their narration, they strove for truth and accuracy, but they did not have a strict objective measure of truth. The deeply truthful Herodotus, for example, has many fables (about Egypt, about the Scythians, etc.); he believes in some, because he does not know the limits of the natural, while others, and not believing in them, he brings into his story, because they seduce him with their artistic interest. Moreover, the ancient historian, true to his artistic tasks, considered it possible to decorate the narrative with conscious fiction. Thucydides, whose veracity we have no doubt, puts speeches composed by himself into the mouths of his heroes, but he considers himself right because he faithfully conveys in an invented form the real intentions and thoughts of historical persons.
Thus, the desire for accuracy and truth in history has been to some extent limited by the desire for artistry and entertainment, not to mention other conditions that have prevented historians from successfully distinguishing truth from fable. Despite this, the desire for accurate knowledge already in antiquity requires pragmatism from the historian. Already in Herodotus we observe the manifestation of this pragmatism, i.e., the desire to link facts by causality, not only to tell them, but also to explain their origin from the past.
