M.N. Pokrovskii and the Origins of Soviet Historiography

Book excerpt: Focusing on the career of the Soviet historian M.N. Pokrovskii, the author examines the evolution of historical writing in the first decade of Soviet rule. As Deputy People’s Commissar for Education, Pokrovskii was among those who established the academic institutions of the new regime. The study of Pokrovskii’s writings and the political context in which they were conceived helps explain the origin of interpretations of modern Russian history current in Soviet times. The book can for that reason be regarded as a preliminary to the study of the Russian revolutionary era, and a key to the critical evaluation of the historical sources for the period.