The Experience of Collective Biography of Historians of Capital University of Russian Empire

Abstract

The article contains an attempt to reconstruct a collective portrait of the historians of the Saint-Petersburg University in the 18th — beginning 19th centuries. The basis of the study is a network database “Petersburg historical higher-school (18th — beginning 19th centuries), created in the frames of the cognominal collective research project. Biographical material, concerned with the activity of the scholars, that worked in different institutes or were related with the historiography of the Petersburg University corporation (Academic University and “academic all-training school”, Teachers’ seminary, Pedagogical Institute, Imperial Saint-Petersburg / Petrograd / University) are analyzed in the article. It demonstrates that the formation of the scholar schools in the historical discipline began in the 2nd quarter of the 19th century. The attention paid to different aspects of the collective portrait of the historians of the Saint-Petersburg University: estates origin, creed, academic mobility, education etc. However, mostly in concerns on the themes of the research, its’ evolution and on the process of historical scholar schools’ formation. It is featured that the historical studies united the representatives of three faculties of the Imperial University in the 19th — beginning of the 20th century (historical-philological, juridical and oriental languages) and took central positions among the researches. The authors demonstrate interaction, partially conjunction of the fields of study and close collaboration between historical, philological sciences and study of art. Particularly pointed out that the major University’s scholars founded scholar schools that had followers in different humanitarian studies. The article also stresses upon the interaction and interinfluence between Moscow and Petersburg historical scholar schools.