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PHJ № 2 (50) 2026 — I. I. Barinov. “I BEG YOU TO DO SOMETHING TO AVERT THE TROUBLES…”. LETTERS FROM EDGAR AMMENDE TO HIS BROTHER EWALD AMMENDE (1921)

The publication unveils hitherto unpublished correspondence between the Estonian public figure Ewald Ammende (1892–1936) and his brother, the merchant Edgar Ammende (1894–1978), who was imprisoned by the Cheka in Moscow. The published documents provide illuminating insights into the diplomatic tensions that characterised the initial establishment of Soviet-Estonian relations during the period 1920–1921. Moreover, they offer a comprehensive perspective on the intricacies of the revolutionary era that characterised the early years of Soviet rule in Russia.

PHJ № 1 (49) 2026 — M. V. Druzin. “EVERYTHING WORSHIPS ONLY POWER…”: NOTE BY PRINCE S. S. ABAMELEK-LAZAREV ON MEASURES TO SUPPRESS THE REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT IN RUSSIA (AUGUST 1906)

The published note by Prince Semyon Semyonovich Abamelek-Lazarev is one example of the notes and petitions from 1905–1906 received from right-wing and Black Hundred organizations and individuals of like views, proposing a wide variety of measures to the emperor and government to suppress the revolutionary movement. S. S. Abamelek-Lazarev, a well-known entrepreneur, mine owner, and Russia’s largest landowner, was not politically savvy. However, he saw the approaching revolution as a direct threat to his holdings and capital, and therefore, the fear of losing everything compelled him to write a “political” note annually from 1905–1907. While the note from the summer of 1905 was distinguished by its length, verbosity, and overall calm tone, the note from August 1906, published here, is practically hysterical, with the prince demanding that rebels and pogromists be killed on the spot, tried by military courts, and exiled to Siberian penal servitude along with their families. The note demonstrates that S. S. Abamelek-Lazarev, having embraced and exploited the economic benefits and opportunities of the new post-reform capitalist order, rejected and failed to understand the need for political change in the social order.

PHJ № 1 (49) 2026 — G. I. Bayazitova, F. E. A. Giral. LETTER FROM CARDINAL DE RICHELIEU TO THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO SWITZERLAND, BRULARD DE LEON (APRIL 9, 1630)

The article is devoted to the study of a manuscript letter by Cardinal de Richelieu, First Minister to King Louis XIII of France, who managed the internal and foreign policy of France from 1624 to 1642. The autograph of Richelieu is kept in the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg as part of the Dubrovsky Collection. Although it was already known to M. Avenel, the first editor of Cardinal de Richelieu’s correspondence, it had not yet been introduced to the scholarly community. Also, a transcription of the letter without commentary or translation is contained in the latest monograph by A. D. Lyublinskaya. The letter dates back to the War of the Mantuan Succession and is addressed to de Leon, French ambassador in Switzerland. The letter concerns Marshal de Bassompierre’s role in the negotiations with the Cantons of Switzerland. The introductory article provides the context for the document’s appearance, reconstructs the series of events that preceded its creation based on historical sources, and draws a conclusion about the message’s place in Cardinal Richelieu’s correspondence. The article provides a transcription, translation, annotated commentary, and a reproduction of the original letter. The publication of this autograph adds to the research on 17th-century French documents located in Russia, initiated by A. Lyublinskaya, and advances ourunderstanding of Cardinal de Richelieu’s activities.

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PHJ № 4 (48) 2025 — N. V. Tikhomirov “THE WORK IN THE VILLAGE IS VERY, VERY WEAK”: THE SOVIET PEASANTRY IN THE REPORTS OF STUDENTS OF THE LENINGRAD POLYTECHNIC

Previously unknown to researchers, documents containing information about the life of the Russian countryside in the conditions of Soviet modernization of the first post-revolutionary decade are being introduced into scientific circulation. The publication presents the reports of students of the Leningrad Polytechnic of Railways, prepared by them based on the results of their work in practice in the villages of the North-Western region of Russia in 1924. The records reflect various aspects of everyday life, leisure, economic relations and the mentality of rural inhabitants. These materials help to understand better the general state of the Russian peasant world during this historical period and the problems faced by the leadership of the USSR in implementing the socialist restructuring of the country. The reports reflect the contradictions that have arisen in connection with the introduction of a new taxation system, cooperative construction, the implementation of the ideas of the cultural revolution, and the training of personnel for party and Komsomol work. The publication aims to expand the scientific understanding of the participation of Soviet students in the implementation of Soviet government activities in rural areas. These reports quantitatively and qualitatively complement the existing database of sources used by historians to study the Russian peasantry in the 20th century. Their involvement in research practice will make it possible to strengthen the anthropological component of modern peasant studies and will serve as information support for scientific research in the field of rural everyday life, the everyday thinking of rural inhabitants, and contradictions in the interaction of the city and the countryside. The published materials will also be useful for clarifying the specifics of understanding the problems of rural areas by party and Komsomol activists and their tasks in solving them.

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PHJ № 3 (47) 2025 — I. E. Barykina. THE FORMATION OF THE PARLIAMENTARY CULTURE OF RUSSIAN SOCIETY: FROM THE MEMOIRS OF O. V. SINAKEVICH-YAFA ABOUT THE STATE DUMA OF THE FIRST CONVOCATION

The convocation of the State Duma in 1906 was met with significant enthusiasm by the Russian populace. However, for the electoral system and legislative institution to function effectively, it was necessary to form a political culture in Russian society. The State Duma of the first convocation is widely regarded as the most open parliament to society, evidenced by its organisation of public events. In June 1906, an excursion was organised for teachers participating in the Pedagogical Congress to the Tauride Palace. The event was documented in the notes of O. V. Yafa.

PHJ № 2 (46) 2025 — R. A. Davydov. INSTRUCTION OF THE ARKHANGELSK MEDICAL BOARD OF 1837 ON THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF SCURVY ON NOVAYA ZEMLYA AND SPITSBERGEN

This work is a publication of the document “Instruction for the prevention of mortality occurring on Novaya Zemlya and Spitsbergen from scurvy”. The document was prepared at the suggestion of the military governor of Arkhangelsk after a number of deaths from scurvy among Russians engaged in hunting on Spitsbergen in the mid-1830s. The text of the document was drafted at the Arkhangelsk Medical Board in 1837 and printed as a pamphlet at the provincial printing house in the same year. The pamphlets were sent to the local police departments of the province to supply shipowners involved in organizing hunting expeditions to the Arctic archipelagos of Novaya Zemlya and Spitsbergen. One of the copies of the pamphlet is currently kept in the State Archives of the Arkhangelsk region. This document is interesting because it describes the main symptoms and the course of the disease in a laconic form, in a language understandable to a non-specialist. In particular, to prevent scurvy, those who hunted in the Arctic archipelagoes were advised to use sour products, i. e. sauerkraut, horseradish, cloudberries, cranberries and lingonberries. These products were easily available to the provincial population and could be stored for long periods during hunting expeditions. For the treatment of scurvy, it was recommended to “drink with the juice of cranberries or cloudberries” and a decoction of conifers, more precisely a decoction of pine cones. Thus, in 1837 — almost a century before vitamin C was officially discovered, artificially synthesised and the dependence of scurvy on a deficiency of this vitamin in the body was proven — doctors in Arkhangelsk gave recommendations for the prevention and treatment of scurvy patients, focusing on providing people with foods rich in vitamin C.богатыми именно витамином C.

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PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — E. D. Tverdyukova. “BECOMING NOT ONLY TOBACCO WORKERS, BUT ALSO AMMUNITION MANUFACTURERS”: THE LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE LENINGRAD TOBACCO FACTORY NAMED AFTER URITSKIY V. N. RUMYANTSEV TO THE V. P. ZOTOV (7.7.1942)

The published document is a primary source on the history of the 1st Leningrad Tobacco Factory named after Uritsky. It was the largest enterprise in the USSR to operate during the siege of Leningrad, supplying the city’s population and its defenders with cigarettes and tobacco. In the challenging conditions of war and blockade, smoking frequently served as means of coping with psycho-emotional distress, alleviating hunger, and acquiring a certain ritualistic significance. The factory’s activities in the initial year of the Great Patriotic War are discussed by the factory director, V. N. Rumyantsev, in a letter to V. P. Zotov, A. I. Mikoyan’s commissioner on food issues. The factory’s staff, in their efforts to substitute scarce raw materials, not only produced tobacco products but also successfully mastered the production of ammunition and medicines. The author of the letter goes on to describe his efforts to maintain the factory’s operational capacity during the first blockade winter, and characterizes the domestic characteristics of the workers.

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PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — A. V. Ashikhmin, D. N. Shilov. “WELL, BUT NOT THE TIME”. THE LAST REPORTS OF M. M. SPERANSKY TO EMPEROR ALEXANDER I ON THE REFORM OF THE SENATE IN 1811

This research is dedicated to the unfinished reform of the Senate carried out by Speransky in 1811. The authors analyzed a set of documents deposited in the Russian State Historical Archive in the fund of the Special Committee of Chairmen of Departments of the State Council (F. 1164), consisting of 32 parts. These documents were interpreted by researchers since the beginning of the 20th century, and their archival systematization was carried out during that period by A. R. Dobrokhotov, clerk of the State Chancery. Despite the obvious relevance of these sources for the history of such large-scale state transformations, most of them have not yet been published. Based on the research of predecessors, source studies, and archaeological research, the history of this collection is reconstructed. This archival complex fits into the history of the Senate reform in 1911, and the role of Speransky and other members of the State Сouncil in its development is revealed. The authors describe and analyze the contents of reform documents, including preparatory projects dating back to Catherine’s reign. This collection provides a comprehensive source on senatorial reform developed by Speransky. Access to these documents and their analysis helps us better understand the ideas of the reformer and his methods of working with historical and contemporary materials, as well as methods of communicating and defending his opinions during discussions. It also reveals additional aspects Speransky’s “technical bureau” work during its early period. For the first time in more than a century of research, the most important documents of the reform authored by Speransky were published — the note “On the formation of the Senate”, with attached drafts of manifesto and decrees, and the note “On the timeliness of establishing the Senate”, comprising parts 17 and 18 of the archival collection under consideration.

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PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — V. V. Shishkin. UNKNOWN LETTER OF HENRY III OF MARCH 10, 1585: ON THE EVE OF THE THE WAR OF THREE HENRYS

The letter of Henry III (1574–1589), the last of Valois, addressed to the French ambassador in Rome at the papal court, seigneur de Saint-Goart (Gouart). The document was submitted to the Archive of the Saint Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences as a gift on April 14, 2024. This is an order to the ambassador to ask Pope Gregory XIII to approve the royal decision regarding the appointment of a new prior of the Augustinian priory in Perigord, Saint-Etienne Du Peyrat, a certain Elis Patrice. In preparation for a new civil war in France, which remained in history under the name The War of Three Henrys (1585–1589), the king placed in secular and church posts, at court and in the field, the persons who were certainly devoted to him. Henry III removed from the post of prior a supporter of the Dukes of Guise, political opponents of the king, Bishop of Amiens. The reconstruction of events, according to the dorsal notes on the back of the letter, allows to understand the dramatic history of the approval of the royal decision, which eventually took place in 1586. This was due to the expulsion of Saint-Goart from Rome on the orders of the new Pope Sixtus V, and his triumphant return a few months after the restoration of relations between Henry III and the Holy See, under a new name and in a new status, Marquis de Pisany.

PHJ № 1 (37) 2023 – А. А. Komarov. Swedish ambassador to the USSR Rolf Sulman on his meetings and conversations with Nikita Khrushchev

This publication contains two letters from the Swedish Ambassador to the USSR, Rolf Sulman, to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Torsten Nilsson. he letters present the impressions of the high-ranking Swedish diplomat as a result of his interaction with the Soviet leader. The tone of the letters witnesses that at the time of writing Soviet-Swedish relations were developing in a favourable spirit.