Review of the scientific supervisor for the graduate qualification work of Tabachnik Ksenia "The policy of the introduction of "red ritualism" in the provinces of the North-West (Leningrad) region in the 1920s".

Interest in the phenomenon of the introduction of the "new" ritual in the first decades of Soviet power has long been undeservedly forgotten by researchers. Although it was overshadowed by the critical writings of early pioneers of the "anti-religious front," it did not become an important topic for the new cohort of Church historians who emerged in post-Soviet Russia. Their research focused mainly on Soviet repression; the courageous behavior of new martyrs and confessors; and the metamorphosis of church-state relations. Only in recent years have individual studies begun to appear which address the problems of "red ritualism," in particular works by O. V. Kalyuzhnaya, K. A. Kolomiets, K. V. Godunov, A. A. Slezin, and others.

Ksenia Tabachnik continued with dignity to develop the emerging historiographic tradition. It should be noted that she herself chose such a difficult topic and for many years has worked in archives and libraries. The researcher managed to work through the materials not only in St. Petersburg archives: the Central State Archive of Historical and Political Documents of St. Petersburg, the Central State Archive of St. Petersburg, as well as regional archives: the Novgorod Region State Archive of Contemporary History of Russia; the Vologda Region Archive of Contemporary Political History; the Leningrad Region State Archive. Ksenia also became acquainted with the fonds of such archives as the Scientific Archive of the State Museum of the History of Religion in St. Petersburg and the Russian State Archive of Film and Photo Documents, which are not easily accessible to the young researcher. I can't help but notice that Ksenia was able to read the latest scientific journalism on the topic, church historiography, and works by researchers who have appeared in foreign languages.

An important indicator of its achievements is the careful study and decent analysis of the works of leading theorists of non-religious ritualism in the early years of Soviet power. A distinctive feature of this analysis is impartiality, as well as an effort to take into account virtually all, including little-known theoretical works. It is noteworthy that Ksenia does not repeat materials from studies of past years; on the contrary, she brings not only her own conclusions, but also richly illustrates them with examples from the activities of antireligious workers in the entire perimeter of Northwestern Russia. 

If we touch upon the second chapter, then in it in three paragraphs he methodically considers the most different examples of the introduced rituals: octobrines, "red weddings" and "red funerals". It should certainly be noted that the author of the graduate qualification work focuses not only on the history of these Soviet innovations, but also on the reaction of the general public to them, as well as how they were reflected in mass culture. Separately, the author reflects on the reasons for the lack of success in adopting some rituals and the significant achievements in changing, for example, marriage rites.

The third chapter is entirely devoted to the so-called "Komsomol Christmas" and "Komsomol Easter”. This time, having examined in detail the theoretical side of the emergence of these "rites", Ksenia moved on to a description of various forms of their conduct, and highlighted the periods of their introduction and the evolution of their features.  The author's finding is also the skillful use of archival photographic material, through which you can clearly show all the subtleties of the introduced holidays.


The confirmation of the success of the researcher's work is her approbation at various scientific events, such as XIII International Scientific Theological Conference "Contemporary Issues of Modern Theology and Church Science" (May 17-18, 2021); XXVIII All-Russian (National) Historical and Theological Conference with International Participation "Sretenskie readeri" (February 18-19, 2022); II St. Petersburg International Historical Forum (October 10-16, 2022) and many others.

 Final qualification work of Ksenia Tabachnik "Policy of introduction of "red ritualism" on the territory of the provinces of North-West (Leningrad) region in the 1920s" meets all necessary requirements and deserves the highest mark.

Associate Professor, Department of Modern History of Russia, 
PhD. in History, 
Rachkovsky Valery Alexandrovich