PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — Table of contents
Contents of the issue of Petersburg Historical Journal №1 (45) 2025
Petersburg Historical Journal № 1 (45) 2025
PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — T. A. Bazarova. PETRINE ST. PETERSBURG AND THE WATER ELEMENT
The waters of the Neva and the Gulf of Finland were a source of danger for the inhabitants of Petersburg. In the city, an alarm was organized for the time of the opening and freezing of the Neva, as well as for the beginning of the flooding. The article analyses the decrees of Peter I and the orders of the local administration, which were designed to minimize the damage, and established standards for the construction of new buildings and piers. The article is accompanied by a letter of the Kotlin commander Vasily Poroshin on the consequences of the flood of 5 November 1721.
PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — O. Yu. Malinova-Tziafeta. THE СATASTROPHIC FLOOD 1924 AND THE URBAN ECONOMY OF LENINGRAD — WAS THERE A CATASTROPHE?
The article examines the use of the word “catastrophe” in relation to the floods and epidemics in St. Petersburg/Leningrad, and analyses the transformation of its meaning in relation to the catastrophic flood of 1924. The study shows that prior to the revolution, both floods and epidemics were perceived rather as routine and part of state and urban order that was in no hurry to change. However, the flood of 1924 served as a catalyst for change, prompting the Soviet government to take decisive action. The flood presented a challenge to the Kremlin, the Leningrad city authorities, the Leningrad police and the Department of Public Utilities of Leningrad, and led to the implementation of new strategies for combating disasters. The flood also presented a significant opportunity to undertake comprehensive repairs and modernisation of urban infrastructure, particularly water supply, sewerage, and road surfaces. Prior to the revolution, these networks, particularly those located beyond the city centre, should have been subject to repairs; however, financial resources for these endeavours were only made available through the all-Soviet-Union assistance to Leningrad, which itself was grappling with the aftermath of a natural disaster.
PHJ №1 (45) 2025 – G. S. Tziafetas. OLD PROBLEM, MODERN SOLUTION: FLOODS AND PROTECTION IN ST. PETERSBURG/LENINGRAD (1703–1924)
The article contains a scientific view of environmental management, projects for protecting St. Petersburg from floods, which were proposed by engineers of the 18th and early 20th centuries, as well as a social justification for why flood supports began to be seriously designed only after the catastrophic floods of 1924. Was it a catalyst for the authorities and engineers — or was this design phase more dependent on other (social) processes?
PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — A. Yu. Andreev, D. A. Tsygankov. SCIENTIFIC TRIPS OF MOSCOW HISTORIANS TO EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES OF THE 19TH CENTURY
The subject of study in the article is scientific trips, during which young historians from Moscow University underwent additional training and engaged in their own research at European scientific centres, primarily at universities. The article addresses the organisation of such trips during the 1830–1890s, the selection of routes, the preferred destinations for Moscow historians, and the nature of their activities there. The article goes on to discuss the role of university authorities (curators) and history professors, such as V. I. Guerrier, in the initiation and organisation of these trips. Drawing upon a comprehensive array of sources, including reports sent back to Russia and personal correspondence, it is concluded that Moscow historians embraced the concepts of world science, and that they, to a certain extent, were themselves integrated into the European university environment.
PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — D. A. Barinov, E. A. Rostovtsev. GRADUATES OF THE FACULTY OF HISTORY AND PHILOLOGY OF ST. PETERSBURG UNIVERSITY AT THE TURN OF THE 19TH–20TH CENTURIES: COLLECTIVE PORTRAIT AND CAREER PROSPECTS
Throughout the imperial period, St. Petersburg University functioned not only as the largest scientific and educational center in the country, but also as a training ground for the political and cultural elite, thus serving as the most significant source for the formation of the domestic intelligentsia. This study examines the role of the historical and philological faculty of the capital’s university in the formation of the national elite. The primary research method employed by the authors involved the compilation of a collective biography of бfaculty graduates, encompassing an analysis of their career trajectories, social compositions, and other relevant factors. A sample of issues from the turn of the 19th–20th centuries (1895–1904) was taken for analysis. The analysis revealed that the further professional paths of graduates developed in three main ways: a bureaucratic career, a career as a teacher in gymnasiums and colleges, and a scientific career, usually associated with work in higher education or the Academy of Sciences. Concurrently, the proportion of teachers and scientists among the graduate population increased, while the proportion of bureaucrats decreased. However, many individuals who opted for careers in the government apparatus did not forsake scientific studies, continuing to publish works, compilations, or organise expeditions. The article also provides comparisons with analogous indicators for other faculties, including law, physics, mathematics, and oriental languages. One of the objectives assigned to the article was to identify the connections that students established during their studies and that influenced the trajectory of their future careers. A thorough analysis of biographies revealed that these connections played a pivotal role in the development of academic and political careers, where the ties of student friendship could prove to be a significant asset.
PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — A. A. Sorokin. DISCUSSIONS ON THE ORGANIZATION OF ZEMSTVO SELF-GOVERNMENT IN SIBERIA IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY
The article at first discusses the establishment of an elected zemstvos’ self-government in Siberia, as well as projects on the organisation of a zemstvos’ electoral system in Siberian provinces and regions in the early 20th century. The study was carried out on the materials of the proceedings of the local committees of the Special Council on the Needs of the Agricultural Industry. The author highlights the essence and content of the attitude of the Siberian public to the institution of elected zemstvos’ self-government, and presents the arguments of Siberian officials in favour of introducing the principle of appointment in the zemstvos’ selfgovernment in Siberia. The attitude of the authors of the projects and participants in discussions in local committees to the problem of the class composition of potential voters is also demonstrated. The article goes on to highlight the positions on the issue of suffrage and proposals for its expansion at the expense of tax and educational qualifications. The analysis then shifts to the national composition of Siberian provinces and regions in the context of granting voting rights to foreigners, before concluding with a discussion of the characteristics of the electoral rights of rural and urban populations in various projects of the organisation of the zemstvos’ electoral system. Finally, the article considers the organisation of a small zemstvos’ unit in the context of the significant remoteness of Siberian settlements from each other.
PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — M. D. Novikov. DEVIATIONS IN THE PROCESS OF CONDUCTING INTERNAL GOVERNMENT LOANS IN THE USSR IN 1946–1957
The present article investigates the problem of deviations during the state domestic loan campaigns of 1946–1957 in the USSR. Existing studies have not considered this subject as an independent one. To address this lacuna, an extensive array of documents from federal and regional archives was analysed. A comprehensive analysis was conducted, encompassing both positive and negative manifestations of deviant behaviour. Additionally, the study delved into the intricacies of criminal activities within the Soviet financial sector. The study revealed that deviations were caused by organisational imperfections in loan campaigns, where the state itself, by establishing a norm, prompted citizens to engage in positive deviations, using informational influence as means to this end. In instances where these measures proved ineffective, recourse was headed to methods that, while not always fully legal, did not constitute a breach of criminal law. The necessity to accomplish the designated objectives necessitated a degree of persistence from the actors responsible for implementing state directives, which can be conceptualised as deviant behaviour. Furthermore, the article provides a detailed exposition of criminal activities that were prevalent during the mass-political campaigns under scrutiny. The documents of law enforcement agencies demonstrate a variety of methods of violating socialist legality, as well as an extensive list of citizens from different socio-professional groups who resorted to criminal methods of interaction with Soviet security forces. However, these materials pay little attention to the reasons that motivated citizens to commit such acts, thereby emphasised the problematic nature of the practice of state borrowing in the USSR.
PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — T. V. Kudryavtseva. ABORTIONS AND ABORTIFACIENTS IN ANCIENT PRACTICE, PUBLIC OPINION AND MAGIC
The article, which is based on information from the Hippocratic Corpus, the works of Pliny the Elder, Dioscorides, Galen, Pseudo-Galen and Soranus, examines various forms of abortion used in ancient society. The most prevalent method was the utilisation of various potions and pessaries, with several case studies provided for illustration. Moreover, it is evident that ancient Greek and Roman medical practitioners were cognisant of the fact that external factors, such as injury, physical impact, or exertion, could potentially result in miscarriage and could be employed as abortifacient agents. The surgical abortion was also described in detail in their treatises, evidently for medical reasons. The article emphasises that, given the potions were the primary abortifacient, the topic of abortion acquired a magical context and subtext, because everything related to potions in antiquity was largely referred to magical practices, usually associated with women — witches and healers. A thorough examination of the sources reveals a plethora of abortive recipes and instructions that are imbued with a magical undertone. The ancient authors reported examples of dubious manipulations and exotic potions, but their accounts were more focused on folk beliefs and superstitions rather than on medical facts. They concealed the improbability and absurdity of these beliefs by referencing public opinion and the saying “it is said”, “reportedly”, and “it is known”. On occasion, these learned authors engaged in discourse with “folk medicine” and articulated reservations concerning the efficacy of the proposed remedies. However, they were unable to entirely dispel the gullibility or the hope for a miraculous outcome, instead endeavouring to systemize and partially rationalize the fantastical recipes and rituals.
PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — A. I. Makurin, D. M. Nechiporuk. THE TRUTH IS IN THE MIDDLE: THE EXPERIENCE OF STUDYING THE SIBERIAN EXILE BY THE SCOTTISH SCIENTIST JAMES YOUNG SIMPSON
This article examines the debate about Siberian exile among English and American travelers in the late 1880s and mid‑1890s. It shows that initially the Siberian exile did not attract much attention among Anglo-American travelers who published books about their travels in Russia. After the journey of the English missionary Henry Lansdell through Siberia in 1878, the Siberian exile became the main subject of discussion among Anglo-American travelers in the 1880s. For example, an 1885 trip to Siberia by the American journalist George Kennan and his criticism of the treatment of political prisoners paved the way for a lively debate among Englishmen about the harshness of Siberian exile. Some of them disputed Kennan’s conclusions. The main opponent was the avid traveler and writer, the British aristocrat Harry de Windt. He pointed out that since Kennan’s visit to Siberian prisons, conditions for prisoners had been improved by the Imperial authorities. Until the mid‑1890s, however, the British press largely supported Kennan’s view. News of the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway began to change attitudes in the West towards both Siberia and exile. An analysis of the work of the Scottish traveler and diplomat James Young Simpson (1873–1934), who visited the Siberian exile after Kennan and de Windt’s trips, shows that attitudes towards the region had begun to change after 1895; Kennan’s conclusions were no longer relevant. Simpson, impressed by the scale of the railway onstruction, believed that the transport of prisoners on foot and by water should cease. He expected prisoner conditions to improve. Simpson warned that it was wrong to generalise about prison conditions in Siberia. He pointed out that attitudes towards criminals varied according to the style of prison administration and the type of prison. After Simpson foreign travelers were more interested in the prospects of Siberia’s economic development, as well as the geopolitical position of the region in the Far East at the beginning of the 20th century.