Fragments of Soviet Historical Science in Osip Weinstein’s letters

Abstract

The article focuses on is the letters written by the famous Soviet historiographer, theorist of historical science, historian-medievalist O. Wainshtein (1894–1980) to a Soviet historian, specialist in social, economic history of the 16th–19th centuries S. Borovoi (1903–1989). The letters published in the article cover the period between 1944–1976, which was characterized by the scholar’s activities, authority, leading positions in the academic corporation, the emergence of their major works. These messages reflect the close environment of the historian and the conditions of everyday life of the Soviet intellectual community. The presented materials follow the main milestones of Wainshtein’s professional activity; circumstances of his promotion; the conditions of his “exile” during the Soviet political campaign “against cosmopolitanism”; news and comments about colleagues. The letters enable to recreate essential details of the development of Soviet historical science, the university system of education, fragments of biographies of a number of scholars. The published material reproduces the debatable issues of historians about certain problems in the Soviet historiography, research in the field of medieval studies, critical remarks, O. Wainstein’s disagreement with colleagues, in particular, with S. Lurie, V. Mavrodin, B. Porshnev, E. Tarle, A. Chistovzonov and others. O. Wainstein’s letters shed light on the context of the preparation and publication of his monographs “Russia and the Thirty Years’ War of 1618–1648” (1947), “Western European Medieval Historiography” (1964), “The History of Soviet Medieval Studies: 1917–1966” (1968), and other works. The publication of letters is accompanied by fairly extensive commentary on their content, and introduces a valuable historical source.