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PHJ № 2 (50) 2026 — A. V. Ashikhmin. THE ADMINISTRATIVE-TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE OF PRE-REFORM RUSSIA: THE EVOLUTION OF HISTORIOGRAPHICAL CONCEPTS

Administrative and territorial changes have been a subject of considerable interest in historical literature for over 150 years. Indeed, they constituted an integral part of state reforms during the 18th and the first half of the 19th centuries. Concurrenting with the evolution of historical conceptions concerning these transformations (notably the reforms initiated by Peter the Great and Catherine the Great), methodological frameworks employed for the study of the territorial configuration of the empire have undergone significant refinement. During the historical transformation of these issues, several significant models can be identified. They include the transition from historical and statistical methods in the late 18th and early 19th centuries to positivist studies in the Imperial period, followed by a period of neglect of the topic in Soviet historiography. This was followed by a revival of interest and the return to historical and geographical studies. The recent post-Soviet interest in this area has resulted in the emergence of both new positivist works of high quality and works that challenge recent historiographic approaches, such as “new imperial history”, modernization theory and regionalism. The historical understanding of the role of administrative-territorial divisions in state reform in the Russian Empire represents a promising area for research, supported not only by recent publications but also by the presence of specialised institutions both in the capital and in major cities across the country.

PHJ № 1 (49) 2026 — V. V. Zdanovich. NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN. A REVIEW OF THE COLLECTION OF DOCUMENTS “NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. BELARUS: CRIMES OF THE NAZIS AND THEIR ACCOMPLICES AGAINST CIVILIANS IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORY OF THE BSSR DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR”

The article analyzes the collections of documents “No Statute of Limitations. Belarus: Crimes of the Nazis and Their Accomplices against Civilians in the Occupied Territory of the BSSR during the Great Patriotic War”, published in 2020–2024. The material contained in the collections tells about the crimes committed by the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War in the occupied territory of the regions of Belarus within their modern borders. It is noted that a large number of various documents have been introduced into scientific circulation. New documentary facts and archival sources introduced into scientific circulation allow us to take a fresh look at the problem of everyday life during the Nazi occupation, to more deeply reveal the essence of the “new order” aimed not only at moral humiliation, but also at the extermination of the local population. The collected information about concentration camps, large-scale Nazi cartel operations, places of mass executions, destroyed villages is convincing evidence that the German political leadership created a real death machine, a criminal system of extermination. In general, the issues of text transmission and archaeographic design of documents have been successfully resolved. The scientific reference apparatus of the collections includes historical and archaeographic prefaces, textual notes, comments, a geographical index, a list of abbreviated words, a list of published documents. In the geographical index, the administrative-territorial subordination of settlements is given at the time of the events. The method of reproduction is indicated only for documents that are not typewritten. Legends of translated documents include storage locations of documents in German, their translations, authenticity, presence of previous publications. Specially prepared appendices also have great informational and practical value.

PHJ № 1 (49) 2026 — A. Yu. Suslov. VLADIMIR NIKOLAEVICH GINEV (1932–2025) AS A HISTORIAN OF POPULISM

This article examines the issues of populism and neo-populism in the creative legacy of the prominent Russian historian Vladimir Nikolaevich Ginev (1932–2025). The article analyzes the scholar’s career at the Leningrad Branch of the Institute of History of the USSR Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences), his key studies on populism in the Middle Volga region in the 1870s, the struggle of neo-populist parties for the peasantry in 1902–1914, and the agrarian question in the theory and practice of socialist parties after the February Revolution of 1917. V. N. Ginev’s dissertation research is given special consideration. The article demonstrates the historian’s contribution to the development of research, the introduction of new sources into scientific circulation, and the analysis of the issues within a broader thematic and chronological framework. Individual reviews of V. N. Ginev’s works in domestic and foreign publications are noted. This article examines V. N. Ginev’s contribution to the publication of documents in the collections “Revolutionary Populism of the 1870s”, “Library of Revolutionary Memoirs”, and “From the History of ‘Land and Freedom’ and ‘People’s Will’. Debates on Tactics”. The significance of V. N. Ginev’s creative legacy for modern historical scholarship is emphasized.

PHJ № 1 (49) 2026 — A. M. Skvortsov. POSTGRADUATE HISTORICAL STUDIES IN 1941–1945: PROBLEMS OF ADAPTING THE SYSTEM OF ACADEMIC TRAINING TO WARTIME CONDITIONS

This article examines the specific features of postgraduate education in history during the Great Patriotic War. Drawing on statistical data, legal regulations, administrative records, and personal documents, the author analyzes how wartime mobilization and the general context of war influenced the training of highly qualified academic personnel. The article highlights challenges related to student recruitment, the quality of academic preparation, and the shifting focus of postgraduate activity toward propaganda work and the production of popular literature — trends that had a tangible impact on dissertation research. Concrete examples reveal a tendency to narrow the scope of dissertation topics to individual sources or specific historians which led to an increase in historiographical and source-critical studies during the war years. Starting in 1943, the All-Union Committee for Higher Education sought to tighten its oversight of postgraduate training. This was to be achieved through formal bureaucratic procedures — including the introduction of individual work plans, reporting activities, and scheduled evaluations — and by strengthening the responsibility of the academic advisor. In both administrative practice and normative documents, particular attention was given to the advisor’s role, with an emphasis on intensifying their engagement with the candidate.

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PHJ № 4 (48) 2025 — V. V. Vedernikov. VALK’S HANDSHAKE. MEMORIES OF HIS LAST STUDENT

The author of the publication is one of the last participants in the special course of a major Russian scientist, source specialist and historian S. N. Valk. The author, who was in close contact with his supervisor in 1972–1974, notes the peculiarities of the scientist’s work with the student audience, his approach to choosing research topics, and points out the difficulties that arose in the process of communication between students and teachers and ways to overcome them. At the Soviet university, Valk was a living bearer of the traditions of the St. Petersburg historical school and sought to pass on these traditions to his students. The author provides facts indicating the historian’s interest in the social movement in the country. Attention is paid to the controversy between Valk and A. L. Nikitin, which attracted the attention of both scientists and students. A number of episodes characterize the scientist’s everyday habits. The article is published to mark the 50th anniversary of S. N. Valk’s death.

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PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — I. M. Basov. HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE PRINTING HISTORY OF THE POLISH KINGDOM IN THE 15TH–16TH СENTURIES

The article provides a historiographical overview of studies of early polish printing. During the period of the 18th–21st centuries, approaches, methods, and points of view on this issue changed repeatedly. The purpose of the article is to highlight trends in the development of the printing history studies, as well as to identify current problems in the study of the Polish Kingdom press. The history of printing has gone from a descriptive direction of science, focused on local subjects and bibliographic summation of knowledge, to an analytical direction, within which, in addition to history, various social and humanitarian disciplines (sociology, cultural studies, philology, linguistics, economics) find their place. To some extent, this is typical for all areas of historical science, but in the field of printing history, the perception of the role of printing press in the cultural development is essential. The appearance of works on the early printing history of the Polish Kingdom from the 2nd half of the 20th century was dictated both by a fairly large level of accumulation of knowledge on the subject and by the development of relevant social theories of communication. The departure from the Marxist metanarrative has brought the research of Eastern European historians into line with the work of Western colleagues, as a result of which historiography is now significantly theorized.

PHJ No 4 (36) 2022 – Z.V. Dmitrieva. Mikhail Borisovich Sverdlov (1939–2022)

On April 21, 2022, Mikhail Borisovich Sverdlov, an outstanding historian, source specialist, archaeographer and historiographer, died. The scientist’s entire scientific life was connected with the St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where he went a long way from graduate student to chief researcher. Mikhail Borisovich was not only Russia’s leading specialist in history, Ancient Rus` and Russian historiography, but also the author of manuals on the history, theory and practice of studying the history of Russia of the 6th–13th centuries.

PHJ № 3 (35) 2022 – L. V. Vyskochkov. Notes and projects of M. M. Speransky in the historiography of Russian source studies

The article discusses the main stages of the publication of the notes and projects by M. M. Speransky (1772–1839), who created hundreds of works on philosophy, jurisprudence, morality, religion, realized and unrealized projects of the state system, which were published and republished from 1802 to the present. In historiography, his early works are the most studied, in particular, his constitutional draft of 1809.

PHJ № 3 (35) 2022 – V. V. Zdanovich. The history of everyday life in the Nazi-occupied territory of Belarus in the works of Belarusian historians

The article analyzes the works of Belarusian historians devoted to the life history of urban and rural residents of Belarus during the Nazi occupation in 1941–1944. The analysis carried out shows that in the Soviet period, according to the party guidelines, the life of different categories of the population in the occupied territory was considered in Soviet historical literature as a daily battle with the enemy. A characteristic feature of the Belarusian period was the development of new directions in the study of the problem, detailed coverage of various aspects of the occupation regime, the consideration of which in Soviet historiography was determined by brevity.