Oral History in Russian Historiography

Abstract

The focus of the article is an analytical review of contemporary works in the field of oral history in Russian historiography. The place and role of oral history as one of the “new directions” in historical scholarship and methods of historical research are considered. According to the author’s observations, the flourish of oral history in contemporary scholarship is connected both with the social and academic demands. In this respect, the practice of research in the field of oral history in Russian scholarship fully corresponds to the tendencies in world historiography. The article shows that numerous projects in the oral history have been activel developed in recent decades by various institutions. In the opinion of the author, oral history as a research method has been recognized and fully legitimated in historiography. Methods of oral history are in demand in a variety of areas: family history, the history of everyday life, etc. However, it is still early to acknowledge the successe and define prospects of oral history as a separate direction within Russian historiography. The article also examines methodological problems solved by oral history, and the relationship between oral history and Memory Studies. The author puts forward a suggestion that methods of oral history subordinate in relation to the general tasks of memory studies connected with the study of social and cultural memory. At the same time, the article shows that the practices of oral history can also be used as tools of historical politics.