Rogozin D.M. Peasant son Anton Bolshakov (1887–1941): A scientific obituary of the executed historian, sociologist and local historian // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2023. V.8. №3. P. 27-45.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2023-8-3-27-45

Annotation

The article presents a scientific biography of the outstanding Russian historian, sociologist and local historian Anton Mikhailovich Bolshakov (1887–1941). The author outlines the milestones of his scientific career: from historical research to the ethnographic and local-historical descriptions of the Soviet village. The most fruitful, productive period of his scientific activity was in the 1920s, when the NEP provided new opportunities not only for entrepreneurs but also for researchers and activists — to realize their intentions and strengths. Despite poverty, censorship and partisanship of the mass media and science, the 1920s were a golden time for the Soviet humanitarian thought and social research. The article identifies three most important directions in Bolshakov’s scientific work: (1) expansion of historical knowledge through the systematic development of related disciplines; (2) promotion of economic history as a collection of documents, statistical analysis and observations; (3) development of rural sociology as a regular observation of the peasantry’s life. Despite attempts to adapt to the Soviet regime’s demands for control and supervision, Bolshakov failed to avoid repression, and he realized the tragedy and ambiguity of his situation. On March 6, 1939, he was arrested, convicted by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union on charges of participation in the counter-revolutionary terrorist organization, sentenced to death on July 9, 1941, and executed on July 27, 1941. Bolshakov was rehabilitated on September 1, 1956, by the decision of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union 15 years later.

Keywords

History of the Russian sociology of the 1920s, historical sociology, peasant studies, rural sociology, economic history.

About the author

Rogozin Dmitry M., PhD (Sociology), Head of the Center for Field Research, Institute of Social Analysis and Forecasting, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Prechistenskaya Nab., 11, bldg. 1, Moscow, 119034, Russia.
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Vinogradsky V.G. Peasants and the Civil War: The discourse of short stories // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2017. V.2. №4. P. 70-85.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2017-2-4-70-85

Annotation

The author develops a new approach to the interpretation of peasant oral stories, especially of those that somehow reconstruct the events of the Civil War of 1917–1922. The relevant short peasant stories were recorded in 1991–1993 during the first peasant expedition of Teodor Shanin. In those years in Russian villages, it was still possible to find direct witnesses of military events of 1917–1922. The fragments of peasant narratives were analyzed with a combination of philosophical, social-linguistic and folkloristic approaches to answer the following questions: what and how do old peasants reconstruct the events of the Civil War? What part of these oral stories can be considered a reliable historical source? What mise-en-scenes of military events remained in the memory of respondents? What is the dominant mode of peasant narratives? What are the discursive nuances of peasant oral stories about the Civil War? The article is intended for historians, ethnographers and sociologists interested in the peasant worlds of Russia.

Keywords

oral history, civil war in Russia, historical memory, everyday “fairy tale”, peasant life practices, peasant worlds, rural sociology, discourse of short stories and fiction

About the author

Vinogradsky Valery G., DSc (Philosophy), Senior Researcher, Center for Agrarian Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. 119571, Moscow, Prosp. Vernadskogo, 82.
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Vinogradsky V.G. Forms of informality: Invisible economy of the peasant house // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2017. V.2. №2. P. 101-120.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2017-2-2-101-120

Annotation

The article presents author’s interpretation of a number of interviews with the head of the household in the Kuban village, the mother of three children, Lyubov Kuranovskaya, who, while answering the interviewer’s questions, created a detailed picture of peasant everyday life, of the rural formal and informal economy. Fifteen years ago, the journal “Sociological Studies” published the first data of this project, and the articles were not typical for such a scientific edition. In the special foreword, the Editorial Board mentioned that the journal usually did not publish such research documents (reports, ta­bles, interviews, etc.); however, an exception was made for the text was of a great value in terms of its content, and it was an example of qualitative interviewing that could be further analyzed. Thus, the respondent ‘received a voice’ and told the readers about her life without any analytical explanations and generalizations. Lyuba Kuranovskaya still lives in the Kuban stanitsa, though much has changed in fifteen years. The author follows the publishing format of 2002 to show Lyubov Ivanovna’s present life practices, and focuses on those aspects of her family economy that are usually named ‘informal’, ‘expolar’, ‘shadow’ or ‘invisible’. Lyuba talks about her life sincerely, trustingly, and picturesquely. The words speak for themselves — the narrator tries to discursively support her own life world so that to move confidently into the future. The text presents fragments of narratives recorded in 2000 and 2012 (previously not published) together with short comments aimed to tie up current and previous life experiences of Lyubov Ivanovna Kuranovskaya.

Keywords

in-depth interview, types of informality, family economy, peasant life practices, peasant worlds, rural sociology, discourse of rural everyday life

About the author

Vinogradsky Valery G., DSc (Philosophy), Senior Researcher, Center for Agrarian Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. 119571, Moscow, prosp. Vernadskogo, 82, Russia.
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Contemporary Peasant Studies, and Agrarian History of Russia in the XX Century. Round table. // Russian Peasant Studies. 2016. V.1. №1. P. 68-92

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2016-1-1-68-92

Annotation

This publication is a transcript of the round table dedicated to the presentation of the book “Contemporary Peasant Studies, and Agrarian History of Russia in the XX Century” that took place on March 18, 2016 at the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences within the XXIII International Symposium “The Paths of Russia. North–South”. The book consists of the materials of the theoretical seminars “Modern Theories of Agrarian Development” that worked in 1992–2000 under the direction of Viktor Danilov and Teodor Shanin, made a significant contribution to the development of post-Soviet agrarian historiography, and for several decades united Russian and foreign researchers of different generations. The participants of the round table discussed the development of Russian and foreign Peasant Studies in the 1960s — 1990s, their current state, problems and prospects. In particular, it was repeatedly noted that one can argue about whether or not there are real peasants in today’s Russia, however, there is no doubt about the preservation of peasant consciousness features in the Russian population. The round table participants shared their personal memories about theoretical seminars of Shanin-Danilov, their experience of the field anthropological and sociological research and scientific discussions.

Keywords

Peasant Studies, agrarian seminar, peasantry, rural sociology, agrarian history, Russian history, post-Soviet agrarian historiography

Participants

Участники круглого стола: Валерий Георгиевич Виноградский, д-р филос. наук, Институт аграрных проблем РАН (Саратов); Александр Владимирович Гордон, д-р  ист. наук, профессор, ИНИОН  РАН ; Василий Васильевич Зверев, д-р ист. наук, профессор РАНХиГС ; Николай Алексеевич Ивницкий, д-р ист. наук, профессор; Виктор Викторович Кондрашин, д-р ист. наук, профессор, член Совета Федерации (Пенза); Авенир Павлович Корелин, д-р ист. наук, профессор, ИРИ РАН ; Павел Петрович Марченя, канд. ист. наук, Московский университет МВД России; Сергей Анатольевич Никольский, д-р филос. наук, профессор, ИФ РАН ; Сергей Юрьевич Разин, Институт гуманитарного образования и информационных технологий;  Игорь Николаевич Слепнёв, канд. ист. наук, РГНФ ; Сергей Иванович Толстов, канд. ист. наук (Томск);  Теодор Шанин,  профессор,  Манчестерский  университет,  Московская  высшая школа социальных и экономических наук; Галина Александровна Ястребинская, канд.  экон.  наук,  Всероссийский  институт  аграрных  проблем  и  информатики.  Ведущий — редактор  книги  «Современное  крестьяноведение  и  аграрная  история  России  в XX веке» д-р ист. наук, профессор РАНХиГС Владимир Валентинович Бабашкин.

Russian Peasant Studies. Scientific journal

Center for Agrarian studies of the Russian Presidental Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)

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