Took Part in the March of Peace

Michael

The route of yesterday’s March of Peace (against the Russian invasion of the Crimea) was traditional for the oppositional marches in recent years in Moscow: from Pushkinskaia Square along the boulevards to Turgenevskaia Square with final meeting on Sakharov Avenue. There were surprisingly many people – less than at the ‘marches of millions’, but definitely more than at the autumn demonstration in favour of political prisoners. The organizers told about 50 thousand, I’m not sure it was really so, but there were certainly tens of thousands of participants, much more than 3,000 (the figure from the police reports). Taking into account how strongly have the Crimean events split the Russian society, including the oppositional part of it, this is really a good news.

Moscow authorities hoped of course that there would be much less people. They opened only one side of the boulevard for us so it was rather narrow to walk  from time to time.

We were walking in one column, without any division according the political preferences. There were several communists, but this time not many – some of them support the occupation of the Crimea. There were almost no nationalists, although I’ve seen two flags of the former Russian Empire (with black, yellow and white stripes) that they usually use.

The mood was rather serious, not like at a carnival as it was at the first rallies against falsification of the elections’ results. It was nevertheless very friendly as previously – that was always an advantage of the ‘white-ribbon’ movement. There were not so many flags and placards as usually, but there were a lot of Russian and Ukrainian flags and a lot of peace symbols (☮). The placards were quite witty as usually, I hope to post the photos soon. I especially enjoyed the word putriots (Putin+patriots) 😉

We successfully failed to meet the Sergei Kurginian’s march in favour of annexation of the Crimea (it began from Trubnaia Square that was on our way), so there wasn’t any provocations.

I don’t know what will follow – and I don’t think our yesterday’s walk will make Putin and Co. change their policy toward the Crimea. But at least we said our ‘no’ (I even saw a placard with the only word no), and at the same time made sure that there are quite a lot of us, and spent several wonderful hours in the company of the people with similar world view (as said my former scientific adviser whom I met at the march, ‘I have such an impression as if I knew the people around although actually I don’t’). In today’s Russia, full of hatred, intolerance and xenophobia, such a breath of fresh air is absolutely necessary from time to time.

A Few Words about Bibiliography

Michael

 

A new collection of documents on Soviet foreign policy in interwar period was published in 2011. Let’s see its bibliographical entry (the original book is in Russian). Moscow–Berlin: Policy and Diplomacy of the Kremlin, 1920–1941 (Moscow, 2011). Volume 1 (1926) has 1031 page. Volume 2 (1927–1932, six years) has 755 pages. Volume 3 (1933–1941, nine years, the most interesting period) has only 690 pages. It’s really a good illustration of today’s archival policy in Russia.

Until the War is not Declared…

Michael

I’ll use an opportunity until the Internet is still accessible and the freedom of speech is not cancelled according to the martial law. The war against Ukraine, if it really begins, – God save us from it! – IS NOT MY WAR. I don’t think it’s necessary, I don’t think it’s just, I haven’t authorized the Russian government to spend my taxes for it. I regard the yesterday’s decision of the Federation Council sanctioning the military intervention into the events in Ukraine as criminal and irresponsible, as well as the current operations of the Russian troops in the Crimea. I feel ashamed that these crimes are committed on behalf of my country.

The war against Ukraine, if it takes place, will be the greatest evil Russia can do not only to Ukraine, but also to herself, even if no other country takes part in the conflict. The today’s policy of Moscow has nothing to do not only with the international law, but also with the national interests of Russia. The war against Ukraine will bring neither freedom, nor prosperity, nor respect of the neighbours to Russia – only blood and devastation. It’s neither ‘rising from knees’ nor restoration of a great power. It’s ‘just’ a shortest way to the catastrophe.

Maybe it would be better to stop, until it’s not too late?

Bibliography on Tolkien Studies

Michael

I’ve finally published my bibliography on Tolkien studies, or, more exactly, a list of the ‘paper’ (not electronic) publications in Russian that appeared in the post-Soviet time and haven’t been posted in the Internet yet, and of the papers in English, French and German that can be found in Russian libraries. I am going to add new references every few months or so. Each update will be posted in the blog at the same time, so that it would be more easy to trace them 🙂

Escape from Besieged Leningrad and Perilous Journeys

Michael

This letter has been found in the papers of my Washington housing owner Lisa Ritchie. Its author experienced not only the hell of besieged Leningrad, but also imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp, an escape from it and then a journey along Germany in the last months before the collapse of the Third Reich. The original text is a typescript in English, in British spelling. It has five pages, but since the third page, the pagination starts from the beginning. The letter is not signed, but Lisa thinks it was sent to her grandmother Elizavietta Hartmann Artamonoff by one of her friends soon after the Second World War had finished (the Artamonoff family moved from Russia to the USA in the early 1920s, but Lisa’s grandmother could leave the USSR only in 1933).

Below is the text of the letter with Lisa’s introduction and my comments (all of them are put in square brackets or placed in the endnotes). The author’s spelling and punctuation are kept without any change except obvious misprints. I kept also the original paragraphs, although in a newspaper publication of the letter, Lisa divided some of them into more short ones (she mentions this in her introduction).

Continue reading →

The English Version of the Website is Finally Ready

Michael

Finally I’ve finished the English version of this website. It’s hardly possible to translate all the texts, but at least I made long annotations to the most interesting of them. I hope I haven’t made any serious mistakes, but I’ll be grateful for any comments, corrections, advice etc. 🙂

Special thanks to my Washington housing owner Lisa Ritchie and to my intern at the Kennan Institute, William La Follette, for their help with translating the texts. Without them, this work would have taken me much more time, and the result would be much worse than it actually is 🙂

A new section on history of the First World War has appeared on the website of the Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences

Michael

A new section on history of the First World War has appeared on the website of our institute: http://www.inion.ru/ww1 (in Russian). Now it contains preprints of a collection of abstracts and reviews Russia in the First World War: New Directions of Research and of a bibliographical index of literature of 1991–2011, that were prepared by a group of our researchers (including me ;-)) for a grant of the Russian Humanitarian Research Foundation, and also some abstracts that were published in recent years and were not in an open access in the Internet until now. I hope we’ll add some more information next year 🙂

Patriotic War of 1812 in Contemporary Historiography (in Russian)

Michael

Otechestvennaia voina 1812 goda v sovremennoi istoriografii: Sbornik obzorov i referatov, ed. O. V. Bol’shakova (Moscow, 2012).

The text of the collection (PDF, 1 MB, in Russian).

Contents

Preface

Abstract: Charles Esdaile, Napoleon’s Wars: An International History, 1803–1815 (London; New York: Allen Lane, 2007)

Abstract: D. Lieven, Russia against Napoleon: the True Story of the Campaigns of War and Peace (New York: Viking, 2010)

Abstract: A. Castelot, The Russian Campaign [A. Castelot, La campagne russe (Paris: Perrin, 2002)]

Oksana V. Babenko, The Russian Campaign of Napoleon I in Polish Historiography (Joint abstract)

Abstract: N. A. Troitskii, Alexander I Against Napoleon [N. A. Troitskii, Aleksandr I protiv Napoleona (Moscow: Iauza: Eksmo, 2007)]

Abstract: V. M. Bezotosnyi, Intelligence and Parties’ Plans in 1812 [V. M. Bezotosnyi, Razvedka i plany storon v 1812 godu (Moscow: Rossiiskaia politicheskaia entsiklopediia, 2005)]

Abstract: A. I. Popov, The Grande Armée in Russia. Pursuing a Mirage [A. I. Popov, Velikaia armiia v Rossii. Pogonia za mirazhom (Samara: NTTs, 2002)]

Oksana V. Babenko, The Fatherland War of 1812 in Works of L. L. Ivchenko (Joint abstract)

Abstract: I. Iu. Lapina, Russian Territorial Militia in 1812–1814 [I. Iu. Lapina, Zemskoe opolchenie Rossii 1812–1814 godov (Saint Petersburg: Izdatel’stvo Sankt-Peterburgskogo gosudarstvennogo arkhitekturno-stroitel’nogo universiteta, 2007)]

Abstract: S. V. Belousov, Provincial Society and the Fatherland War of 1812 (Evidence from Middle Volga Region) [S. V. Belousov, Provintsial’noe obshchestvo i Otechestvennaia voina 1812 goda (po materialam Srednego Povolzh’ia (Penza: PGPU, 2007)]

Abstract: Ralph Ashby, Napoleon against Great Odds: The Emperor and the Defenders of France, 1814 (Santa Barbara, Denver; Oxford: Praeger, 2010)

Abstract: Andrew Roberts, Waterloo June 18, 1815: The Battle for Modern Europe (New York; London, etc.: Harper Collins, 2005)

Abstract: David King, Vienna, 1814 : How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna (New York : Harmony Books, 2008)

Abstract: Karl J. Mayer, Napoleon’s Soldiers: Everyday Life in the Grande Armée [Karl J. Mayer, Napoleons Soldaten: Alltag in der Grande Armée (Darmstadt: Primus Verlag, 2008)]

Julia V. Dunaeva, Female Faces of the Napoleonic Wars (Joint abstract)

Ol’ga V. Bol’shakova, 1812 and Russian National Self-Consciousness: Anglophone Historiography (Review article)

Abstract: Napoleonic Wars on Mental Maps of Europe: Historical Consciousness and Literary Myths [Napoleonovskie voiny na mental’nykh kartakh Evropy: Istoricheskoe soznanie i literaturnye mify, ed. N. M. Velikaia and E. D. Gal’tsova (Moscow: Kliuch-Ts, 2011)]

Abstract: Richard Stites, Decembrists with a Spanish Accent, in Kritika 12, no. 1 (2011): 5–23

Preface

We offer our readers a collection, prepared by the forces of the Department of History of the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences of Russian Academy of Sciences, timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. It seeks to give the slice of modern historiography, Russian and Western, with the twofold aim. On the one hand, the collection is designed to help the reader to get an idea of the topics and trends of modern studies of this important historical event, on the other—it contains a wealth of factual material that should be useful for anyone interested in history.

The War of 1812 has left an impressive mark in the history and culture of Russia. For two centuries it had been the subject of many volumes of historical and literary works, numerous paintings, museum exhibitions, films and even computer games. Although there were a great number of various wars in Russian history, “the twelfth year storm” stands out first of all for its images, familiar to everyone on the Leo Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace, appear in the public mind again and again during the turmoil. They embody the examples and samples of Russian patriotism that resonate in all layers of the population.

That is why the anniversaries of the French invasion of Russia were always celebrated throughout the country: celebrating its century in 1912, became an important social event, and to the 150th anniversary, the opening of such important monuments was timed as the Borodino Panorama in Moscow. Anniversaries stimulated the development of historical research as well. In 1912, seven-volume The War of 1812 and the Russian society was published which was attended by many of the leading historians of the time. 50 years later, in 1962, Soviet historiography was enriched by a number of interesting studies and publications of documents prepared for the nationwide anniversary. However, it was then that in the Soviet historical science, a model for studying the War of 1812 was established which was based on the ideology of the Cold War. The Iron Curtain by the time not only separated the Soviet scientific community from the international one, but also divided the Soviet researchers themselves; as a result, the war of 1812 was studied by specialists on the history of the USSR, while such topics as the War of the Third Coalition, foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813–14, the Congress of Vienna, became the prerogative of specialists in world history.

This bias is starting to be overcome, especially in Western historiography, which is no longer inclined to regard Russia in isolation, as something unique and dangerous. For Western scholars who study the “revolutionary era” in Europe and America, 1780s—1820s, the Russian Campaign is an important, but relatively poorly studied episode. However, after the end of the Cold War in the interpretations of Western historians, changes could be observed toward a more balanced and objective evaluations, recognition of the importance of the Russian Campaign for the course of the Napoleonic Wars as a whole.

In the new millennium, much more active study of the history of the Napoleonic era in Europe began. Perhaps we can talk about the beginning of a new phase of research on this topic, which is characterized by a high level of international cooperation. In modern research, much attention is given to Russia as well, as, for example, in the monograph of the British historian Charles Esdaile on the history of the Napoleonic Wars (see abstract prepared by Ol’ga V. Bol’shakova). This material opens the collection and places the Patriotic War of 1812 in the European context.

An extensive summary of the book by D. Lieven, a professor at the London School of Economics (the author of the abstract is Michael M. Mints), is entirely devoted to Russia and its struggle with Napoleon. The War of 1812 is presented in the text as a component part of a long historical process, as the culmination of the Napoleonic Wars.

French historiography of the campaign in 1812 was known for its anti-Russian position, but in the 1990s there was a tendency to revise one-sided views. An example of such a re-evaluation is presented in a library-research paper written by Tatiana M. Fadeeva on the book by French journalist, historian and writer A. Castelot. Polish historiography of the Russian Campaign, still not entirely free from secular bias against Russia, is reflected in the joint abstract written by Oksana V. Babenko.

Important episodes of Napoleonic Wars, not enough known for Russian readers, are highlighted in library-research papers written by Sergei V. Bespalov and Victor M. Shevyrin which address the final stage of the battle in Europe in 1814–15. A number of foreign policy issues is reflected in abstracts that deal with the Russian intelligence, comparative biographies of two emperors Napoleon and Alexander, and, finally, the ending event of the Napoleonic Wars’ era—the Congress of Vienna and the creation of the Holy Alliance (papers by Vadim S. Konovalov and Julia V. Dunaeva).

Considerable attention in Russian and Western historiography is payed to the study of everyday life in both the Russian, and Napoleon’s armies (abstracts by Oksana Babenko and Michael Mints). “Female face” of Napoleonic Wars is a topic of a joint abstract written by Julia Dunaeva.

New for the post-Soviet historiography aspect in the study of the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars in general is special attention to memory and mythology. The first sign in this respect was the international conference held in the Russian State University for the Humanities in 2011 (an abstract of its proceedings is submitted by Irina E. Eman). Another event which is important for further development of international cooperation in the investigation of this subject was the conference “After the storm. 1812 in the collective memory of Russia and Europe,” organized by the German Historical Institute in Moscow (May 2012). The role of war in 1812 in the formation of Russian national identity is the topic of a review of English literature, written by Ol’ga Bol’shakova.

The collection is concluded with a library-research paper devoted to the Decembrists’ movement, which is discussed in a posthumously published article by American historian Richard Stites in the European context, as a legacy of the Napoleonic Wars.

Ol’ga V. Bol’shakova

A Plan of Further Development of Science in Russia for 2014–2016 (in Russian)

Michael

I found this text in the Internet only today, have fun 🙂

Source: http://alimov.pvost.org/wp/?p=2550.

Перспективы эффективности науки в свете последних требований ФАНО

Главный редактор «Петербургского Востоковедения» О. И. Трофимова сообщает с мест:

«Achtung!

Я говорила и говорю, что если наши власти и споткнутся обо что-то — капитально так споткнутся, с преткновениями! — так это о реформу Академии наук. Академия (рядовые ее сотрудники в большей степени, нежели чиновничий состав) уже показала себя неплохим начинающим бойцом, что обнадеживает. Но вдвое обнадеживает то, что ученые наконец-то начали смеяться над реформой, а это куда разрушительней. Ведь выглядеть в глазах общества злодеями – одна песня, а дураками – совершенно другая. Как вы, может, знаете, камарады (а, может, и не знаете), в институты РАН поступило письмо о необходимости срочно отчитаться перед ФАНО о публикациях за 2013 год и составить перспективный план публикаций и открытий на период до 2016 года (!).

Вот ученые и составляют.

1. В физике:

— В 2014 году, не позднее первого квартала, опровергнуть теорию относительности Эйнштейна. Не позднее четвертого квартала 2016 года разработать всемирную теорию безотносительности.

— В 2015 году, в первом квартале, опровергнуть теорию Большого Взрыва. Не позднее второго квартала 2016 года разработать теорию Малых Подкопов. Не позднее четвертого квартала 2016 года внедрить указанную теорию в производство с выходом на экспорт.

— Не позднее третьего квартала 2015 года разработать теории Нуль-перехода. Не позднее четвертого квартала 2016 года запатентовать и внедрить указанную теорию в производство с выходом на экспорт.

2. В зоологии:

— До конца 2016 года открыть не менее двух новых видов «русского медведя», не менее двух видов «новейшего уссурийского тигра» и пять видов ракообразных. Опубликовать не менее 1 статьи в «Nature» и не менее 200 статей в ВАКовских журналах.

3. Междисциплинарные исследования (зоология, биология, история, археология, лингвистика, философия и религиоведение — мегагрант на 2012—2016 гг.):

— На период 2014—2016 гг.: Доказать происхождение русского человека от мамонта. Убедительно проследить эволюцию предмета в цикле статей: «Почему вымерли мамонты и что унаследовал от них русский народ?»; «К вопросу о реконструкции языка мамонтов»; «Мамонтово городище: археологические находки из Западной Сибири»; «Мамонты и русские: единство и борьба противоположностей»; «Русская религиозная философия как наследие мамонтов»; «К вопросу о геноме мамонта и особенностях генома русского человека»; «К вопросу о миграции мамонтов в Сибири и влиянии миграционных процессов на обустройство России»; «Вопросы трансегдерной мутации мамонта в половозрелую особь и проблема вымирания вида в результате отказа от половой идентичности», и др.

Для активной публикации настоящих статей образовать ежемесячный журнал (зарегистрировать в ВАК, Web оf Science, и др.): «Русы и мамонты». Обязать каждого участника мегагранта написать не менее 24 статей в год по указанной тематике.

4. В литературоведении и лингвистике (национальный мегагрант):

2014 год – реконструкция второго тома «Мертвых душ» Н. В. Гоголя с авторскими комментариями и рисунками А. С. Пушкина на полях.

2015 год — внедрение апробированного метода в реконструкцию протонаследия человеческой цивилизации.

2016 год — публикация протонаследия человеческой цивилизации в электронном виде (ключевые слова: прото, цивилизация и загадочное слово «капец»).

5. Междисциплинарные исследования (экономика, гидрогеология, биология, генетика, генная инженерия, медицина, история, лингвистика, литературоведение, археология, прикладные исследования — мегагрант на 2014—2016 гг.):

— I квартал 2014 года — реконструкция цивилизационной модели Древнего Шумера и экспериментальное воссоздание ее на территории Российской Федерации в условиях Крайнего Севера (базовое учреждение ФАНО — Институт востоковедения бывшей РАН; Высшая школа экономики);

II квартал 2014 года — реконструкция цивилизационной модели государства Си Ся и экспериментальное воссоздание тангутской государственности на территории Российской Федерации в условиях Крайнего Севера (базовое учреждение ФАНО — Институт восточных рукописей бывшей РАН; Высшая школа экономики);

III квартал 2014 года — реконструкция цивилизационной модели Древнего Египта времени фараонов IV династии и экспериментальное воссоздание ее на территории Российской Федерации в условиях Крайнего Севера (базовое учреждение ФАНО — Высшая школа экономики);

IV квартал 2014 года — переезд Высшей школы экономики в условия Крайнего Севера для сравнительного изучения возрожденных цивилизаций на месте их бытования.

— 2015 год: Воссоздание Вавилонской башни (1:1) с внедрением в производство и выходом на экспорт (базовое учреждение — Государственная корпорация по строительству олимпийских объектов).

— 2016 год: Реконструкция всемирного потопа с внедрением в производство и выходом на экспорт (базовое учреждение — Госстрой Урарту и Шумера).

Свят-свят-свят!

Какие дивные просторы для мегагрантов! Дух захватывает от перспектив, когда в современных условиях мирового кризиса и всеобщей рецессии наши ученые (Слава ФАНО!) могут без опаски ежемесячно и ежеквартально планировать великие открытия! Слезы благодарности наворачиваются на глаза каждого ученого, который не устает славословить пересохшими от нежности губами министра Литвинова!

Сим победим!»

© О. И. Трофимова, 2013