Petersburg Historical Journal № 4 (44) 2024

Home page » Issues of the magazine » 2024 » Petersburg Historical Journal № 4 (44) 2024 » Page 2

Petersburg Historical Journal №4 (44) 2024

PHJ № 4 (44) 2024 – T. Yu. Tolstikov. OVERCOMING THE FOOD AND TRANSPORT CRISIS: HISTORY OF THE ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION OF ICE RAILWAY CROSSINGS ACROSS LAKE LADOGA DURING 1941–1943

One of the most pivotal occurrences in the history of the defense of Leningrad during World War II was the food crisis that occurred between 1941 and 1942. The event was precipitated by the imposition of a land blockade by German forces on the city and the seizure of vital transportation routes. The sole viable route for the delivery of supplies to Leningrad from the remainder of the country was via Lake Ladoga, a previously unused transportation corridor. The authorities were confronted with a significant challenge in the organisation of supplies during this period, given the inability to utilise water transportation during the winter months. A solution was devised in the form of a highway through Lake Ladoga, which came to be known as the “Road of Life”. However, alternative supply routes were proposed in the form of ice railway projects, the history of which is not well documented in the scientific literature. The successful construction of these highways could facilitate the resumption of communication between Leningrad and the rest of the Soviet Union, potentially enabling the lifting of the German blockade without the necessity for military intervention. This article presents an analysis of the various projects that were considered, the process by which they were evaluated by the relevant authorities, and the history of the construction of an ice bridge on stilts and a narrowgauge railway across Lake Ladoga during the winter months of 1942–1943.

PHJ № 4 (44) 2024 – A. A. Amosova. RESTORATION OF THE URBAN ECONOMY OF LENINGRAD IN 1944–1946: THE ACTIVITIES OF INSTRUCTORS AND PERMANENT COMMISSIONS OF THE LENINGRAD CITY COUNCIL

The leadership of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War and the Siege, and the role of local government bodies — the Soviets — in particular, remain relatively understudied. For an extended period, the subject was not subjected to comprehensive investigation due to the distinctive characteristics of the political climate. Notwithstanding the considerable quantity of pertinent archival materials now accessible to scholars, the methodologies and analytical frameworks employed to examine the exercise of authority in emergency military contexts remain underexplored. This article focuses on the activities of the Organizational and Instructional Department (sector) of the Leningrad City Council as part of the ongoing work to restore the urban economy of Leningrad in 1944–1946. This study presents a description of the activities and instructors, standing committees and deputies of the Leningrad City Council during this period. Furthermore, it identifies the most significant activities aimed at reviving the Leningrad municipal economy implemented after the liberation of the city from the siege. The principal methodological approaches employed were historical reconstruction and specific historical and problem-chronological methods. The principal sources consulted in the course of this study were the normative and office documents of the Leningrad City Executive Committee.

PHJ № 4 (44) 2024 – B. N. Kovalev. KILLERS ABOUT KILLERS: TESTIMONY OF FORMER PUNISHERS AGAINST THEIR ASSOCIATES (THE CASE OF G. M. GUREVICH-GURVICH)

The 667th Shelon Battalion, comprising individuals who had collaborated with the Nazi regime, left a trail of violence and destruction in the vicinity of Leningrad. The Soviet state security agencies continued their search for war criminals until 1991. It is regrettable that, following the conclusion of the Second World War, a considerable number of these individuals were able to regularise their immigration status in a number of Western countries, including the USA, the UK, Australia, Canada and West Germany. However, some former punishers who returned to the USSR were subsequently held to account for their actions. From 1947 to 1950, the death penalty was abolished in the Soviet Union. In 1955, an amnesty was proclaimed. The sentences handed down to those who had collaborated were reduced by a factor of two or three. Following their release from incarceration between the 1960s and 1980s, these individuals provided testimony as witnesses to the crimes of their former associates. One of the most notable trials occurred in Novgorod in 1962.

PHJ № 4 (44) 2024 – V. S. Stefanenko. ANNE OF FRANCE, MADAME DE BEAUJEU: POLITICIAN AND DIPLOMAT

The article examines women’s political and diplomatic activity in France at the end of the 15th century, with a particular focus on the actions of Anne of France, Madame de Beaujeu. A review of theregent’s correspondence reveals that Anne was able to reinforce France’s position, maintain the territorial gains of Louis XI, and expand the kingdom through matrimonial diplomacy. She accomplished this through an extensive network of informants, clients, and her own ambitions. In the context of the Renaissance, Anne of France endeavoured to establish her own teachings and political theory, integrating traditional perspectives on women in power with the emerging realities of her era. This period witnessed a growing influence of noble ladies on political decision-making, a phenomenon that Anna of France sought to navigate.

PHJ № 4 (44) 2024 – I. M. Nokhrin. COLONIAL NATIONALISM IN BRITISH NORTH AMERICA IN 1830S

The article is devoted to revealing the role of nationalism in the socio-political crisis in Canadas in the 1830s and the subsequent uprisings of 1837–1838. The author argues that this was the time when colonial politicians and intellectuals began to abandon their British nationalism, which was very characteristic of them before and began to develop the idea of a Canadian nation actively. Unsuccessful attempts to achieve the same rights and privileges that the inhabitants of Britain had convinced the colonists that there was no equality between the subjects of the king in the Old and New Worlds. Therefore, without equal rights, Canadians could no longer consider themselves British. Moreover, the whole system of the colonial government, its legitimacy, and, in the end, their loyalty to the king, were called into question. Moreover, the ideas about Canadians as a nation in Upper and Lower Canada were quite similar and, which is especially noteworthy, were, in fact, civil, not ethnic. But the most important thing was that if the Canadians were not British, then it logically followed that they lived under the rule of foreigners, as the compilers of ninety-two resolutions put it, their land was ruled by a foreign power with a priori different interests, goals, motives than Canadians. And this, in the era of the triumphant march of nationalism across the Western world, was considered a problem of a much larger scale than the struggle for office or reform. This state of affairs was perceived as completely wrong, unfair, and intolerable. And it could not continue indefinitely. Once this idea had won the minds of patriots and reformers, their further radicalization, a complete break with British nationalism, and a confrontation with the empire were inevitable.

PHJ № 4 (44) 2024 – L. A. Sadova. RUSSIA AND NORWAY: FEATURES OF BILATERAL RELATIONS IN 1891–1905

Russian-Norwegian relations at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries are usually considered separately from Russian-Swedish relations in the same period. This was due to the peculiarities of the legal formalization of the Swedish-Norwegian union in 1814, according to which Norway received significant independence in the management of domestic policy. Based on diplomatic documents from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire, the author raises the question of the specifics of bilateral relations between Russia and Norway. Archival documents indicate the multilevel nature of the interaction between Norway and Russia. From the point of view of diplomatic practice, Norway was perceived in the Russian Foreign Ministry as an inseparable part of Sweden, with which interaction at the official level was carried out through Swedish state institution. On the other hand, direct Russian-Norwegian trade cooperation, including between the border northern suburbs of the two states, as well as Russia’s geopolitical interests in the region, required resolving issues precisely within the framework of direct Russian-Norwegian relations.

PHJ № 4 (44) 2024 – M. A. Averyanov, A. B. Gekht. THE FINALE OF FRENCH SUPREMACY IN ALGERIA: THE PHENOMENON OF THE OAS

This article examines the phenomenon of the OAS, a right-wing terrorist organisation that emerged in the early 1960s as the French colonial empire collapsed and Algeria sought independence. The paper examines the circumstances leading up to the emergence of the organisation and the reasons for joining it. It describes the main stages of the history of the OAS, its main goals and methods of achieving them. It analyses the reaction caused in society and, finally, the reasons for the defeat of the organisation, which has left a significant trace both in the recent history of France and Algeria and in popular culture. Taking into account the low level of study of this topic in the Russian historiography, this article aims to fill the said gap. It seems that the study of the political experience of the Fifth Republic, which waged colonial wars for a long time, has additional relevance in the conditions of modern international relations.

PHJ № 4 (44) 2024 – E. B. Barinova. THE ROLE OF RUSSIAN AND SOVIET ORIENTAL STUDIES IN THE FORMATION OF CENTRAL ASIAN ARCHEOLOGY

The objective of this study is to delineate the intricate and protracted process of archaeological investigation into ancient Central Asia by Russian and Soviet scholars up until the early 1930s. This will enable the identification of the distinctive characteristics of the formation of Central Asian archaeology. The material for analysis was derived from the findings of archaeological research conducted by various expeditions in Central Asia. In selecting research methods, the objective was to define the archaeology of Central Asia as a field of inquiry pertaining to material objects that, in conjunction with other data, can shed light on the history and way of life in ancient societies. In addition to the descriptive element, the primary methodological technique employed in the study of the archaeological investigation of ancient Central Asia by Russian and Soviet scholars was the analysis of individual developments pertaining to the socio-economic and cultural history of the region. The period preceding the 1930s can be regarded as the inception of Central Asian archaeology. This was marked by the establishment of state committees for the study of ancient cultures (including the history of Central Asia) and the formation of independent union republics in the region. These developments stimulated the growth of the national economy and culture, while the organisation of republican departments of Sredazkomstaris played a pivotal role in the registration and protection of ancient monuments, marking the first instance of a research organisation in the Central Asian republics. The findings of the research conducted by Russian and Soviet scholars into the ancient history of Central Asia during the 1920s can be regarded as the genesis of a new academic field: the archaeology of Central Asia.