ASSOCIATION FOR SCIENTIFIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH
AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS RELATING TO INTEGRATION
AND SYNTHESIS OF PHYSICAL PRACTICES, SPIRITUAL TEACHINGS,
SCIENCES, CULTURE AND PHILOSOPHY
“UNIVERSAL SYNTHESIS ACADEMY”
ALMANAC
Universal Synthesis Academy
Scientific field expeditions
Issue 1
"City as Person"
MOSCOW
2019
As a
manuscript
The Almanac covers the field work of the
Universal Synthesis Academy, carried out for more than 20 years.
This publication includes theoretical and
methodological materials, as well as reports on several scientific expeditions,
dedicated to historical studies of Russian cities.
One of the directions of the Academy's work is
the development of a new method of culturological urban studies, namely, considering
a city not just as a single administrative cultural unit, but as a holistic
living person.
An important methodological basis for this
work is the concept of urban studies, developed by a notable Russian historian
I. M. Grevs at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. He considers a city as a
living collective personality with its own biography, history, character and
soul. The method of exploring the city, introduced into the practice of local
history by the Grevs school, got the name of 'scientific-excursive'.
The field work of the Academy continues and
develops the best traditions of scientific study of local lore, perfecting and
deepening the work of the Grevs school in a universal way.
Our proposed method assumes extensive
preparatory research, resulting in the collection and summary of all
information about the city, starting with the geological, geographical,
ecological environment, including information pertaining to industry, culture,
and concluding with knowledge of the spiritual component of city life. Also
explored are the biographies of notable people, associated with the particular
location.
Then, after the urban expedition, visiting the
main sites of interest, talking with experts in various fields and meetings
with outstanding people, the theoretical and practical data are integrated and
a conclusion is made about the city as a holistic Personality, a single living
person.
This book serves as a methodological guide for
summer field expeditions of the Universal Synthesis Academy, which may be
useful and interesting to specialists in the fields of history, culture, local
research. When using materials from this collection, a link to source is
required.
CONTENTS
|
ARTICLES, RASEARCH Research
Concept of City as Person (methodological design of the Universal
Synthesis Academy with the city of Smolensk as an example) . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pashinina O.V. The city as a holistic person,
manifesting itself in all civilizational directions of the region (report
at the scientific conference "The great people of the city as spiritual
builders of civilizational directions in the region of study", city of
Saratov) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loskutova E.V. Historical and
philosophical aspects of the study of city as person: towards a methodology of scientific field
expeditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . EXPEDITION REPORTS Pereslavl-Zalessky:
a city-person (article-report
on the expedition to Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl region, 2011) . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summer
expedition to the city of Klin, Moscow Region (2014) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . Speech
of the Universal Synthesis Academy expeditionary group before the
intelligentsia of the town of Liski, Voronezh region (2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From
dark matter to crystal: genesis, formation and development of the city of
Alexandrov, Vladimir Region (according to
expedition materials, 2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . Spiritual
biography and qualities of the city-person of Zaraysk (according to expedition materials, 2016) . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TEACHING MATERIALS FOR EXPEDITIONS List of
expedition work areas. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . Expedition
Program (sample route)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . Report
scheme of the conducted summer scientific field expedition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ARTICLES ABOUT I.M.GREVS Biography of I.M. Grevs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Antsiferov N.P. Ivan Mikhailovich Grevs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stepanov B. Towards the Past. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ushakova I.
He was searching for the "face of the city". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . Axelrod V. Dedicated to Grevs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
|
ARTICLES,
RESEARCH
RESEARCH
CONCEPT OF THE CITY AS PERSON
Methodological design of the Universal
Synthesis Academy
(with the city of Smolensk as an example)
The
Academy is developing new methods of urban studies, namely-the method of
studying the city not just as an administrative and cultural entity, but as a single
living person.
In our
study of the city we rely on the method of the outstanding Russian historian,
local historian, colleague Of V. I. Vernadsky-Ivan Mikhailovich Grevs
(1860-1941).
Grevs
school has developed a special method of urban research, called
'scientific-excursive' method. Significant scientific research is conducted on
a particular city, summarizing all relevant information.
Our research work includes the following
stages:
1. Preliminary preparation and material study of the main directions and
spheres of life of
the city. For a holistic understanding of the
formation and evolutionary development of the city, its internal and external
growth, all of the above areas are considered in historical perspective. In
this regard, of particular importance to us is the historical, archaeological
and omniological (study of toponymy and hydronimy of the city and the region)
section of knowledge in each of the above areas.
Also, a
fundamentally important provision of our concept is to highlight the notable
people of the city – movers in all spheres of human activity, who left behind a
powerful trace, investing their lives in the development of the city throughout
its history. The result is the creation of a kind of "iconostasis" of
the 'city movers'.
2. Departure to the city. Field work includes:
·
research of significant objects;
contact with specialists in various fields (scientists, local historians);
·
meetings with the current bearers of city
culture and traditions, outstanding people of our time.
3. Preparation of scientific report and photo
report. Correction and refinement of research methods. For this purpose the following areas are
studied in depth:
·
Geology and geography;
·
Archaeology;
·
Ethnology and Ethnography;
·
social sphere: crafts, folklore, economy and
industry;
·
arts and culture;
·
science and education;
·
spiritual and religious structures.
At the final stage, theory and practice are summarized and an argument is
proposed about the
nature of a city from within: its heart and
soul.
Let us
summarize the most important principles of
I.M. Grevs’ concept:
1. Idea of
the unity of the process of universal development.
Grevs
said that history is a biography of the
human race. The human race is the subject of history. From here comes the
idea of the continuity of cultures, the impossibility for each culture of
complete disappearance, the continuation of the life of one culture in another.
It looks as a novelty against the background of popular cultural theories about
the birth, development, extinction and disappearance of cultures in the
historical process (Toynbee, Spengler). Each previous culture does not
disappear without a trace and is not denied by the next, but collects at the
end of its life cycle the nucleus of the most valuable, and with this seed
passes into the life of the next culture.
2. The
method of I.М. Grevs is based not only on the identification of common
principles, but also on the search for
special, unique features inherent in every culture and era. To this end, he
carefully studied the facts to restore the picture of the past in all of its
specificity. Grevs always looked for individual traits: “face of the era”,
“face of culture”, “face of the city”.
We use the biographical method, which treats
the city as a single person. Grevs regarded the city as a living collective
personality, as a collective person with his biography, history, character and
soul: “It (the city) must be understood
as something internal, whole, as a particular subject, a collective
personality, a living creature, in whose face we should look closely to
understand its soul, to recognize and restore its biography. "
The
following are important:
⦁ the moment of city's birth and whom it was
founded by (founding fathers);
⦁ periods of maturation, in which certain vital
qualities are revealed that help the formation of the city's persona;
⦁ periods of crisis, which play a special role,
suggesting a choice and a cardinal change in the life of the city's persona.
3. Ivan
Mikhailovich Grevs paid much attention to
outstanding persons of note, since he believed that historical processes are
not blind, not impersonal, but at the same time treated the individual not as
an independent engine and a starting point of history, but as a performer of
the objective tasks of an era. That is, at each stage of the city’s
evolutionary path, there are objective tasks that are determined by the
previous stage of development, and there are subjects who are able to grasp and
recognize these tasks and realize them with their lives.
If a
task is objective, then the choice is subjective and it depends on the people
themselves what the next stage of the city’s life will be like.
Taking
the method of I.M. Grevs as a foundation, we develop it further. Gathering and
summarizing the information, we set the task of not just stating the facts, but
striving to isolate the essence from the form, i.e. behind the external outline
of events, to see the process of internal development of the city, the
formation and growth of its consciousness as a person, namely:
- highlighting the basic qualities in each
subject and era, by selecting the people who moved the culture of a given
region or city, their ideas and summarizing the results of their contribution;
- highlighting the qualities that they were
guided by and which were the embodiment of their ideas, and the goal of the
stage being studied is revealed to us;
- relying on the fact, obvious in our studies,
that these outstanding people did not walk their creative and active paths
alone, but worked in groups (as, for example, the spouses Tenishev, Roerich,
Vrubel, Malyutin, Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya - in the Tenishev estate
Talashkino near Smolensk).
We use
the gathered information in the following way:
1.
Studying the lives of great people:
- their life credo;
- ideas that they embodied;
- special human, personal qualities;
- methods of overcoming obstacles to achieve
their goals.
For
example, the life credo of Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, creator of Russian
classical music, was: “To write music in Russia and for Russia. I am a Russian
composer. "This is the idea of serving the Fatherland, the idea of
creating a national style in music.
To
embody the Russian spirit in music, one must have the strength of spirit. And
we see in Glinka these serious qualities:
- persistent purpose of mastery in his work;
- working capacity, despite poor health;
- high self-organization;
- great will;
- ability to concentrate internally;
- love for the people, for their traditions
and culture;
- the desire for continuous development and
self-improvement.
The
composer's methods of overcoming difficult life situations are clearly
demonstrated in the case of the failure of his opera Ruslan and Lyudmila, on
which he worked for 6 years. After the unsuccessful premiere, he did not lose
heart, overcame despondency, decadent moods, did not respond to negative reviews.
He kept his lofty goal, asserted steadfastness of spirit, fidelity to the lofty
idea that led him, and found the courage to bow out without renouncing his
creation. It was not only a victory over himself, but also the assertion of a
new stage in musical art, the expansion of its borders.
Thus,
we see before us the spiritual path of a great man, whom we can call the
spiritual disciple of the One Life, shifting the evolution bar of human
consciousness with his asceticism.
2. The
next step is to educate ourselves through the experience of great people. We
correlate the discoveries of our expedition with our lives, finding similar
moments in our own situations: where we had to make a similar choice, what we
did, what qualities we lacked, what needs to be developed and nurtured in
ourselves. The result is a change in our own personality, our inner growing up.
Thus,
we recognize the life path of outstanding people of different eras as a special
method of consciously building our own life.
3. We
carry the results and methods of this work to the world in our
socio-pedagogical, professional activities, in work with students. On this
basis we develop personality development programs, methods of work in difficult
situations, in life periods of crisis.
A
fundamentally important point is our understanding of spirituality not as
religious worship, but as relentless self-knowledge, the search for the meaning
of life, one's credo: how will I shift the wheel of evolution, what will I
do to make this contribution? To do this, you need to possess and develop
spiritual qualities, high aspirations, learn from outstanding examples.
Thus,
we come to know the principles of world order, macro- and microcosm as internal
laws of knowing ourselves as part of a single spiritual life.
Each
epoch, culture and subject enter one into another with its essence, substrate;
they become the basis of the next idea, goal and task of the new era, the next
period of meta-history. Thus the Human of the city, country, planet is brought
up.
At
present, an urgent problem is the disunity of science, religion, philosophy and
their isolation from human life, from the highest objective spiritual
principle.
In
attempts to overcome this and find a single spiritual root of life, connecting
humanity and the world, objective and subjective, there appear organizations of
local history, reconstructionalist, pagan communities, psychological centers
and philosophical movements. Their goal is to comprehend the essence of life in
its integrity and learn to live by these laws. We note this as a trend of
modernity and a feature of the new era.
Striving
for such integrity and unity, people are uniting in groups; circles,
collectives, schools, centers, etc. are manifested clearly. This shows another
trend of the time - not an individual search for truth, but a union in group
forms, i.e. the emergence of a certain collective subject, differentiated by
functions, but integrated into a single goal and therefore holistic and
effective.
Thus,
we clearly see how new values sprout in the minds of people, new principles
are born:
·
Knowing yourself and the universe based on the
unity of heart and mind.
By “heart” we mean the openness of a person’s
consciousness, his higher psychic ability, as a living organic connection with
the work of one's life, love for it, which can unite, find new connections,
build new relationships.
By "reason" we mean the activity of
human intelligence, the ability to concentrate and analyze, mental activity as
responsiveness to the objective laws of life. The unity of the heart and mind,
as consciousness and intellect, gives rise to the integrity of thinking and the
ethics of cognitive activity, responsibility for its results. This unity of a
“good mind” and a “wise heart” opens up a philosophical view of the world
around us and ourselves, reveals the principle of a high mind that recognizes
life as a mystery play, excluding any states of mysticism, “feel good”,
fanatical worship, energy and extrasensory perception as manifestations of
lower psychism and unconsciousness.
·
The act of cognition as carrying knowledge
“through oneself”, correlation with one’s stages of the path, the embodiment of
objective knowledge in one’s life as consciousness.
·
The synthesis of all areas of civilization:
religion, science, art, philosophy, politics, economics and the gradual
establishment in the minds of people of a single Spiritual Source for all. Thus
implemented is the process of converting specific knowledge into consciousness.
·
The acquisition of the highest meaning of one’s
life and the disclosure of its purpose, which is common for all people on Earth
as an awareness of the need for their own evolution (through self-knowledge,
self-development, self-education) in order to change the world around oneself:
·
discovery and recognition of the world;
·
self-knowledge of oneself in the world and
change of oneself;
·
transformation of the surrounding world.
·
The search for a single spiritual root as the
source and reason for the historical panorama development of evolution of
humankind, peoples, cities, clans, dynasties and personalities encourages us to
search for our spiritual roots, which we discover in expeditions, touching on
spiritual beliefs and folk legends and traditions. This allows us not to be
“clods who do not remember their history”, but to preserve the continuity of
the spiritual experience of generations, which the base of the people's
spiritual essence, the Motherland.
·
The unification of people close to us in the
inquisitiveness of their thought, depth of search, creative burning and
selflessness of their professional service as innovators, who respond to the
spirit of the new time.
Ph.D. in Art History,
Chair of Universal Conceptology Department
THE
CITY AS A HOLISTIC PERSON, MANIFESTING ITSELF
IN ALL
CIVILIZATIONAL DIRECTIONS OF A PARTICULAR REGION
Scientific
Conference Report “The great people of the city as spiritual builders of
civilizational directions in the region of study”, city of Saratov
From the opening address to the conference.
Today we will talk about the great people of
the city who, through their lives, their labor and their exploits, have driven
the development of various areas of science, culture, religion, social and
political life of the city. Their footprint is so great that they still inspire
us, being invisibly present and continuing to hold on to the directions whose
founders and reformers they were.
Speaking of spirituality, we do not mean
mysticism and religiosity. Spirituality is understood by us, above all, as the
embodiment of the human Spirit through service in the name of lofty ideals and
for the sake of humanity.
It is important to realize that you and I are
living particles of our hometown, and through our lives we also make our small
contribution to its development.
Let us become aware of our physical
contribution to the life of the city through our work. Let us find in our
hearts love for the place of our birth, for our native land and for its people,
the love that connects us. Let us be aware in our mental sphere of a certain
measure of responsibility to our native city and its one life. And now let's
feel that there is Something that unites and holds the whole life of the city -
its invisible Soul. That is what consists of a “spiritual trace”, a “spiritual
feat” of these great souls, ascetics - builders of the civilizational
directions of our city.
Thus, we can say that it is not just a
conference being opened; but the spiritual space of this conference is opening
up, in which we will talk about high service in the name of humankind.
***
The purpose of this report is to expand the
consciousness of people from the traditional and habitual understanding of the
city as an administrative unit, which corresponds to certain economic, cultural
parameters, to a different understanding, perception and awareness of the city
- as a living subject or a holistic person.
This Human of the city is in turn a part of a
larger system that we can call the human
of the country or the human of the state. This system, of course, can be
continued further, speaking of a single human of the planet.
The principle of consistency, founded by the
Pythagorean school, is traditional and obvious. The novelty here lies in the
fact that each of these large-scale units is realized precisely as a living
subject, as a holistic person, who, as a cell of the body, is a part of a
larger whole.
So, a city is like a human being. We can say
that such a definition has existed in the history of culture and science for a
long time, from the 15th century, time of the Renaissance. Our task is to
expand from the perception of this human-city as a planar structure (as on a
map) to representing it as a voluminous, vertically built hierarchical
structure.
The city as a person has not only a body, but
also a Soul, which can be understood and figured out only by the method of
"getting used to", entering into this subject, a person of the city.
It is worth noting that this method and the
perception of the city as a person with a body and soul are not new concepts
either. This idea has already been mentioned in science - we are talking about
the school of an outstanding Russian historian and local historian - Ivan
Mikhailovich Grevs, who lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. This
is one of those scientists who have been undeservedly forgotten, perhaps as a
result of the events of a difficult pre-revolutionary and post-revolutionary
political situation. But it is more likely that the consciousness of humankind
was then simply not ready for the acceptance of such new progressive ideas. It
is worth noting that Ivan Mikhailovich Grevs was the closest friend of Vladimir
Ivanovich Vernadsky, whose revolutionary ideas about the noosphere, too, could
not yet be adequately perceived by the mass consciousness of humankind.
Thus, Grevs considers the city as a living
collective personality, as a collective person with its biography, history,
character and soul. To quote one of his statements: “It (the city) must be
understood as something internal, whole, as a special subject, a collective
person, a living creature, in whose face we must peer, understand his soul,
know and restore its biography.”
The Grevs School has developed a special
method of urban research, which is called the “scientific-excursive method”.
Thus, in order to study a city, a preliminary research work is carried out for
about six months, which summarizes all the information about the city, starting
from the geological, geographical, ecological environment, then explores all
aspects of the city’s life - industry, culture, spirituality. Biographies of
prominent people of the city were studied as well. All this information was
collected, summarized, generalized, integrated. Then the working group went
directly to the city, where they walked through each street, got used to the
architectural body of the city, learned its entire multi-level structure. At
the final stage, they summarized theoretical information and practical
findings, and only then did they pass a judgment about what the city is like
from the inside, what is the soul of the city. Nowadays the Grevs method is
beginning to be revived, but it is perceived too externally and superficially.
So, back to our concept of the city as a
living person with a body and soul. What is the body of the city, and what is
this mysterious substance, which Grevs calls its soul? The human body of the
city, like the body of any person, is threefold, three-component,
“three-story”; it is formed by the physical sphere, psycho-emotional and
intellectual or mental sphere.
The physical body of the city is formed not
only by the biological mass of all people living in it. It is multi-structural
and includes several layers: it is the geological environment, geographic,
natural and ecological, this also includes the architectural body of the city
with all its features; this can also include the industrial and productive
environment, as the highest section of the physical body of the city, directly
producing tangible products. Thus, the physical sphere of the city is
associated with the material and spatial factor.
The mental sphere of the city is also
absolutely real; it is sensible, tangible; it is a certain environment to which
one can apply such an epithet as the "character" of the city. Also,
the mental sphere of the city is this psycho-emotional image of the city, which
is formed by the plan of relations of all elements within this huge integral
space, as a result of which certain tension fields are created. The beauty of
the psycho-emotional body of the city is directly related to the development of
culture and art within it.
The third, intellectual, or mental sphere of a
city-person is formed by the totality of achievements of human thought on the
scale of a given city, and is expressed
mainly by the city's scientific potential.
And this trinity of spheres is held by a
certain focus - the highest fourth or zero, which is the soul of the city.
The soul of the city is not a poetic metaphor
or some mythical essence, it is an absolutely real substance, formed by a group
of souls of the most outstanding and highly advanced figures of the city from
various fields of science, culture, religion, and the socio-political sphere.
By their labor, achievements, and example, these people leave such a powerful
mark that even after they are gone, they continue to inspire us to new exploits
and achievements. It is not by chance that we try to perpetuate their memory by
opening museums, cultural centers, and erecting monuments. Thus, these ascetics
continue to hold on to the life and development of the city with their
invisible presence. And as high as the level of group consciousness of these
ascetics is, so high is the status of the city.
What determines the level of consciousness of
these outstanding people? Why do we call them ascetics? Because they, at the
cost of their lives, literally with sweat and blood, often at cost of great
sacrifices, pushed the development of a particular direction of science,
culture, religion, social, political sphere, etc. And the level of their
consciousness is determined by the degree of their dedication and sacrifice.
These people are always distinguished by their
huge ability to work, disinterest in material benefits, and awareness of the
meaning of their lives in the service of humanity. Their path is complex, it is
accompanied by stages of temptation and their overcoming. They always encounter
obstacles in their path, as they bring something new, and thereby go against
the tide, revealing this novelty to humanity. This is their feat and their
cross. An important distinguishing feature of these ascetics is the
universalism of their thinking, that is, most often they work in several areas
or several civilizational directions. And another most important quality of
their labor is the group principle of work - they are not alone in their
essence. We know many such groups - the Mighty Handful in music, the Wanderers
in painting. There are such groups among religious figures, for example, the
reverend elders of the Optina Desert; in science there are groups of scientists
working together. The members of such groups can be scattered in time, that is,
they can be born in different historical periods, but the main point is that
they are united by a common goal and task, by a single aspiration.
Let us turn to the question of civilizational
trends, represented in the structure of all major cities. We distinguish seven
basic directions, which are a hierarchically unified system, correlated with
the traditional concept of seven centers in the human body, this eastern
concept of energy centers or chakras, known to most of you, which now receives
scientific substantiation in various fields of human knowledge.
The first civilizational direction is aimed at
strengthening the physical and material part of the city, that is, all that is
connected with the physical material embodiment of those lofty ideas, carried
out by philosophers, organizers, people of art. Physically, it is represented by
a mass of people performing physical labor directly, people with whose hands
all this is being built, erected, brought to physical realization. This
environment of working people distinguishes their ascetics, Stakhanovites, who
direct and inspire everyone to live not for their own sake, but for the sake of
a lofty universal goal.
The second civilizational direction is
associated with the discovery, cultivation, building of ties, starting with
agriculture, and ending with the sphere of human communication at all levels.
The third direction is associated with
organizational activities, with the processes of structuring society. This
includes public figures, politicians who sought to transform the state by
creating or following lofty ideas.
The fourth plan corresponds to the heart
center in the human structure and is associated with ethical, moral,
educational tasks. We can include priesthood here, but besides, secular people
who preached high moral ideas through their spiritual, moral deeds, and their
educational work with others.
The fifth direction is associated with the revelation
of creative potential, that is, culture and art.
The sixth direction is philosophy and science,
revealing objective ideas and knowledge.
The seventh direction is a synthesis of all
previous directions. Its representatives are working not so much with a
specific science, with specific art, but with the laws and principles through
which life is organized in any direction, as well as life in the universe as a
whole.
All civilizational trends in their unity are
connected by one goal - the advancement of humankind.
In different cities, civilizational trends can
be represented in different ways, some more developed, some less. It depends on
several factors. Firstly, from the task that the city performs in the structure
of the state. There are city outposts, there are scientific centers, there are
cultural ones. Secondly, it depends on the level of consciousness or the degree
of dedication of the leaders, at the head of a particular direction.
As already mentioned, these people build the
above directions literally with their lives; therefore we call them spiritual
builders. Once again, spirituality is not mysticism, nor religious piety or
worship. This is a manifestation of human will, love, selflessness in the name
of a larger whole, in the name of serving lofty ideals and all people. These
people do not see themselves in any particular direction; do not satisfy their
ambitions; being leaders in the field of art or science, they see their
direction of work in themselves, live and breathe through their work. By their
physical, creative, mental and spiritual work, the status of the city rises and
grows. And our task is to identify these people, to recognize them, to follow
their high path and thereby invest our small part in the single life of the
city-person.
Chair
of Universal Philosophical
Knowledge
Department
Historical and
philosophical aspects
of the study of city
as person:
towards a methodology of scientific field
expeditions
The existing historical science considers the
city in particular and the region as an object, i.e. it studies its form,
structure, historical facts and highlights the stages and features of
development. Although science distinguishes certain laws of these processes,
all of them are mostly of an external, descriptive nature.
We, however, try to see the city in its
internal and external integrity, to recognize its life path as a living being,
Soul, human. In this sense, the approach of Karl Jaspers in his work
'Philosophy' is applicable to the human-city:
“Human being as a whole cannot be objectified.
As long as he is objectified, he is an object ... but as such he is never
himself.
In relation to him as an object, one can act
through external rational conventions, according to the rules and experience.
In relation to himself, i.e. as a possible
existence, one can act only in historical concreteness, in which no one is just
an “incident”, but in which fate is fulfilled. ”
Thus, the city as a whole is not just an
object of analysis, it should be investigated as a manifestation of its
existence, which expresses itself in borderline situations of “historical
concreteness”, not as an accident, but as the inner spirit of this collective
spiritual hierarchical living Subject affirming a new step of its destiny.
In our analysis of the city as a person, we go
beyond the scope of objectivism, and try to see the city as a Subject, integral
and unified in its biographical formation, to see its historical place in the
unified fate of Russia.
Based on the results of a study of history,
industry, culture, education and science, a hypothesis is proposed about the
level of development of the Subject of the city as the spiritual status of its
consciousness. The development phase of the Person-city consciousness is made
sense of and evaluated, its
involutionary or evolutionary character is highlighted.
'Involutionality' is
understood as the stage of laying down certain spiritual archetypal qualities
that form the integral Personality of a person-city, its appearance,
originating from the objective natural conditions of a given locality, its
special psychological and socio-cultural flavor as a product of ethnic and
cultural interaction of tribes; a historically developed way of life and
specific mentality of the population, identifying itself with a given
spatio-temporal and spiritual environment of the city already as part of a
state organism.
At this stage, the holistic Personality of the
city maintains its own identity, improves within its living space and makes a
feasible contribution to various areas of the country's life.
The evolutionary stage presupposes the passage
by the city-Person of special crisis, dedicatory points in its biography,
awakening the spiritual will, as the existence of a single Human-city, the
choice and responsibility taking for a
certain part of the country's fate. The city rises as a spiritual warrior, or
spiritual driver, hard worker, mobilizing and concentrating all the forces of
the Person in selfless service to the Motherland. As such, we see hero cities,
for example, Rzhev, Smolensk, Kursk, and many others, the potential of which
has developed over a long historical period, and matured into a full-fledged
multifunctional and stable unit, establishing itself at certain borders of the
country. And at the crucial moment this unit took the brunt of it, upholding the life of a free human spirit
as the age-old value of an entire nation.
In peacetime, such cities-Subjects are the
areal and regional centers, capable of “maintaining” the integrity and
interaction of various spheres of economic, political, cultural, scientific and
spiritual life. In such cities, statesmen of philosophy, religion, science,
culture and industry are growing up, who by their work represent the face of
the state, leave a mark in its biography.
In the city biography we see not only a
sequence of years and events, but we distinguish stages and see individual
cyclicity. Thus a picture emerges of the gradual growth of the Subject-city,
its upward movement from the development and formation of its physical body, to
the development and improvement of the mental, intellectual and spiritual
spheres.
The sequence and formation of these spheres of
life is correlated with the energy centers (chakras) of the seven-fold human,
considered in Eastern philosophy as special steps in the temple of human
spirit.
In our concept of human development, the
physical body formation stage of a human-city corresponds to its muladhara, as
the stage of survival in the natural environment, the struggle for existence
and rooting in a particular territory. This is a fairly long stage, which can
last for centuries.
If rooting has occurred, then this settlement
in one form or another goes on to its next stage - svadhisthana - the
development of the surrounding space; the construction of new internal and
external links, the population is growing, active trade is ongoing, a
particular way of life is emerging. This is an analogy of the sensory sphere
formation: personal relations , mental plan of the city.
With the strengthening of borders and internal
organization, there is a gradual advancement to the third stage - manipura. Not
every city comes to this stage. It is here, in fact, that the city is being
formed: citizenship, political power structures, independence in
decision-making, and a claim to leadership among other similar cities. This is
the manifestation stage of the city's volitional qualities: militancy, the
ability to stand up for oneself.
At the initial phase of this stage are the
conquering goals, the struggle for resources and new space. A more mature stage
is characterized by an image of nobility, protection for subordinate structures
- settlements and villages, as well as supports for the capital, if a city is
not one itself. This stage corresponds to the active rational, intellectual
activity of a person-city. At this stage, we also see a developed economy,
strong social institutions, technical equipment, the cultural level of
citizens, professional and social differentiation.
The fourth stage, anahata, brings the
human-city to a special initiatory stage of revealing its ability to sacrifice.
Here “there is a certain cardinal change in man, which makes him different from
all other living creatures on earth - he begins not only to ensure his own
survival and multiply but also actively participate in society, by helping
others.” Such a phase goes through cities that have experienced serious shocks,
which have almost wiped them off the face of the earth. An analogy of this we
can see in the history of hero cities of the Great Patriotic War. Here the
heart of the city is revealed, its inner spirit grows; true religiosity and
spirituality are born.
The fifth stage - vishuddha - is the rebirth,
self-expression, creativity and passion, as special qualities of a person-city.
The sixth stage - ajna - is a special
internal, often hidden state of life of a person-city. It is not clearly
visible in the steady everyday rhythm of its everyday life, rather it is a
phase occurring in the self-reflecting and ideological attitudes of its
thinkers; the reflection of researchers on its history and culture, the active
interaction with creative unions of like-minded people, the formation of
schools and new directions in various fields of culture, art, science, philosophy.
The seventh, final stage - sahasrara - is the
achievement of a certain peak of the city's integrity. This stage lasts a short
time and goes into a new cycle, starting with its own muladhara.
The thousand-year history of a city may
contain several such seven-fold cycles or exhibit only some full stages.
EXPEDITIONARY
REPORTS
PERESLAVL-ZALESSKY: A CITY-PERSON
article-report on the expedition to the city
of Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl region (2011)
A city is not just a space in which people
live, and not a diagram on a map; a city is a living person. It has a date of
birth, stages of growth, ups and downs - that is, its own biography.
The Person-Pereslavl awes with his
"greatness and wisdom."
The life of every person originates in the
mother’s womb. Such a place of maternal power for Pereslavl was Lake
Pleshcheyevo. In its vicinity, even before the arrival of the Finno-Ugric
tribes, lived the representatives of Indo-Europeans. This is confirmed by
archaeological finds of VIII-V millennium BC. with characteristic symbolism
(Bakaev A.M. “Berendey swamp: legends, traditions, facts, finds”). According to
the hypothesis of prof. S. Zharnikova (“Eastern Europe as the ancestral home of
the Indo-Europeans”) it is precisely this period in the history of the
Volga-Oka interfluve that is described in the ancient Indian epic of
Mahabharata. Then an ancient Vedic (Brahmanic) culture was born on this land,
which later transformed into the so-called pagan cults of the Slavs. In the
legends of Berendey people, worship of the Blue Stone, in the shrine on
Yarilo's patch and so on. A spiritual continuity can be traced, which has
penetrated deeply into the consciousness of the people.
Centuries passed, and in this fertile place
the city of Pereslavl was born. It became not just an outpost of the
Vladimir-Suzdal principality; a waterway to the northern lands passed through
it. Over the years, the waterway was replaced by land. The road has become both
the fate and the character of the city. We have often heard from local
residents that even after living here for 30 years, they feel like
"passing through".
However, one should not perceive negativity in
this character trait of the Person-City. The path has always been a symbol of
movement, development and aspiration.
In all centuries, Pereslavl land not only
provided the way, it gave birth and raised sons who have served Russia. These
are the most outstanding and highly advanced figures of the city from various
fields of science, culture, religion, and the socio-political sphere: “These
people, by their labor, feats, and example, leave such a powerful mark after
themselves that even after they are gone, they continue to inspire new feats
and accomplishments. It is no coincidence that we try to preserve their memory
by opening museums, cultural centers, erecting monuments. Thus, these ascetics
continue to hold on to the life and development of the city with their
invisible presence. And as high is the level of the group consciousness of
these ascetics, so is the status of the city.
What determines the level of consciousness of
these outstanding people? Why do we call them ascetics? Because they, at the
cost of their lives, literally with sweat and blood, often at the cost of great
sacrifices on their part, moved the development of a particular direction of
science, culture, religion, social, political sphere, etc. And the level of
their consciousness is determined by the degree of their dedication and
sacrifice.
These people are always distinguished by their
huge capacity to work, disinterest in material benefits, and awareness of the
meaning of their lives in the service of humanity. Their path is complicated,
it is accompanied by stages of temptation, respectively, their overcoming. They
always encounter obstacles in their path, as they bring something new and
thereby go against the tide, revealing this novelty to humanity. This is their
feat and their cross. ” (O.
Pashinina, “The city as a holistic person, manifesting himself in all
civilizational aspects of a particular region”).
We tried to create a spiritual
"iconostasis" of the city of Pereslavl. Moreover, by spirituality we
do not mean mysticism, neither religious piety, nor worship. Spirituality is a
manifestation of human will, love, selflessness in the name of a larger whole,
in the name of serving high ideals and all people.
Pereslavl saints: Nikita Stolpnik (Nicetas
Stylites), Dimitri of Priluki, Daniel of Pereslavl, Korniliy the Silent and
others.
Russian princes-civilizers: Yuri Dolgorukiy,
Alexander Nevsky, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich.
Scientists:
M.I. Smirnov, A.K.,Aylamazyan, N.G. Kartashevsky, S.F.
Kharitonov, Albitsky P.M.,
Artists: icon painters Fedor Dernin, the
Kazarinov dynasty, D.N. Kardovsky.
Patrons of Art: Sveshnikov I.P.
It was these ascetics who paved yet another
road of Pereslavl with their lives, only not through water or land, but a
spiritual one.
The prosperity of the Person-Pereslavl will be
ensured if the life of the city begins to concentrate precisely around this
spiritual path.
The premises to this are in plain sight. Many
of the current ascetics continue their feat and thereby strengthen the
spiritual path of Person-Pereslavl. The next step should be the consolidation
of these wonderful peoples' efforts and the unification of new ascetics around
them.
Summer expedition to the city of Klin, Moscow
region
(2014)
This year, the expedition was dedicated to
conducting culturological studies, meetings with specialists in various fields
and exchanging ideas.
The purpose of the expedition was to develop
the scientific-excursive method of exploring the city as a person, initiated by
Ivan Mikhailovich Grevs - Russian historian, one of the founders of
local historical research.
The expedition concluded in a meeting with
representatives of the departments of culture in the city of Klin, dedicated to
the discussion of research and proposals for prospective development.
In six days, our employees visited the main
historical locations of the city, met with representatives of the creative
intelligentsia.
--------------------------------------
The city has a very interesting history, and
above all, people who changed the internal and external appearance of Klin with
their creativity, hard work, high ideas and new thoughts, both in the past and
in the present.
The acquaintance with the city began with a
visit to the museum of local lore and a sightseeing tour of the City - this is
the name of the central, oldest part of the city. The tour was conducted by the
museum researcher Nadezhda Evgenievna Lisitsina. Here we got information about
the history of the city and the region, and about the people who influenced its
development, examined the city center, Shopping arcades and merchant buildings
of the XIX century, Trinity Cathedral and Assumption Cathedral.
Also in the museum of local lore we managed to
meet with the historian Pavel Valeryevich Pustyrev. Pavel Valerievich gave a
lecture on archeology of the Klin region, from which we learned that from an
archaeological point of view, Klin is poorly known, and conducted a tour in the
military-patriotic museum “Feat”. The museum exposition takes the visitor to
the terrible, but great days of the Great Patriotic War. Penetration of
thoughts and feelings at this fateful moment in our history is due to “living”
artifacts that were found during excavations by the youth from the search
team “Feat”, one of the leaders of which is Pavel
Valerevich. The activities of the search squad and the museum help to
perpetuate the memory of soldiers who died on the territory of Klin and the
Klin district during the Great Patriotic War and play a great role in the
patriotic education of the younger generation and memory preservation of the
Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
In the house-museum of A.P.
Gaidar the museum director Natalya Vladimirovna, an
enthusiast of her craft, had a wonderful tour; a small exposition is more than
compensated for by the guide’s narrative
The museum was founded in 1989 in a house that
the writer rented for the summer from a local resident with a large family. The
house owner’s daughter, Dora Matveevna, became Gaidar's wife - so in his books,
the girl Zhenya (the name of Dora Matveevna’s own daughter) appeared next to
the boy Timur. After the war, a memorial plaque was hung on the house, and in
the late 1980s it was transferred to the museum.
Arkady Petrovich wrote his most famous work,
Timur and His Team, in Klin. We remembered a man with a difficult fate, a
patriot, one who follows his moral values.
Walking through the Demyanovo
estate with Svetlana Alekseeva was very emotional
and informative. The owners of the estate at different times were B.D.
Mertvago, friend of A.S. Pushkin, then the lawyer V.I. Taneyev, brother of the
composer S.I. Taneyev. From time to time, P.I. Tchaikovsky, A.N. Scriabin, A.M.
Vasnetsov paid visits to Demyanovo. At Taneyev’s dachas, the following stayed
for a long time: natural scientist K. A. Timiryazev, who had his own laboratory
there; Gnesin family, professors of Moscow and St. Petersburg universities. The
poet of the Silver Age, Andrei Bely, calls Demyanovo his native place.
Svetlana Alekseeva devoted some lines to
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin in the Demyanovo estate:
“ The guide Elena Viktorovna Shmeleva conducted
an amazing tour of the Museum-reserve
of P.I. Tchaikovsky. The
House-Museum of P.I. Tchaikovsky is one of the main attractions of the small
town of Klin, near Moscow. It is the oldest museum of music, founded in 1894 by
the brother of the great composer, Modest Ilyich. It was he who carefully
preserved the furnishings, the archive, the library, the personal belongings of
the composer's last years and the remarkable centipede table (fitting 20
guests, i.e. 40 legs, hence the name). Also preserved here is a table at which
Symphony No. 6 and the ballet The Nutcracker were written. After the tour, one
can listen to the music of P.I. Tchaikovsky in the small hall.
Museum-estate of D.I. Mendeleev. Boblovo village. The Museum-Estate of Dmitry
Ivanovich Mendeleev is a monument of Russian science and culture. For more than
40 years he lived in Klin region in the village of Boblovo. The museum displays
documents and personal items of D. I. Mendeleev and his family, a collection of
objects of peasant life, a library on the history of the Russian
Physico-Chemical Society. Many of the events related to the life of Mendeleev,
his relatives and guests, are told by the museum exposition and photo exhibition,
located in the preserved house of Professor N.P. Ilyin, a friend and associate
of Dmitry Ivanovich.
The city is not
just squares, houses, monuments and museums. The city is, above all, the people
living in it. That is why the expedition held meetings with representatives of
the creative intelligentsia of the city of Klin.
Arsen
Galaktionovich Kuchukhidze -
metalworking artist. For his service to art, Arsen Galaktionovich was awarded
the title of People's Master of the USSR. He devoted almost forty years to his
work. Some of his works decorate his hometown for many years. Among them is a
three-dimensional metal sculpture of the postman on the Stele at the entrance
to Klin and openwork lanterns, a chased coat of arms on an administrative
building, a spire of the Christmas tree decorations and decoration of the
portal of the Museum of Local Lore. Artist's website: http://arsen-dze.ru/ .
Tatyana Borisovna Kurilkina - the head of a clay toy club in the town of
Vysokovsk. The meeting took place in
Vysokovsk cultural center, built a century ago by the
merchant-philanthropist Kashaev as a folk theater. Tatyana Borisovna is an
enthusiast, an excellent teacher who not only teaches how to work with natural
material - clay, but also fosters in children a love for their roots, their
land, folk traditions and culture.
Svetlana Dmitrievna Alekseeva: after graduating from the Tver State Medical
Academy, she works as a pediatrician in Klin. She is a mother of three children
and is a bright, optimistic person who loves her land.
From early childhood, Svetlana writes poems;
the lines devoted to the city of Klin, are used in this article. Svetlana is a
laureate and winner of various poetry online contests. A 3rd degree laureate of
the International literary meetings "Kablukovskaya Rainbow" in the "Poetry" nomination in 2011.
Finalist-prize-winner of the 3rd International 'Tsvetaeva Autumn' competition,
2011. Winner of the Bulgakov literary competition "Medical newspaper"
in 2011. She has printed publications in the 'Medical Gazette', the
'Shkolnik'(Student) newspaper, the 'Hammer and Sickle' newspaper, the
'Spiritual Meadow' newspaper, the 'About Us' newspaper, the 'Okna' (Windows)
magazine, and in various poetry books and almanacs.
Ovchinnikova Irina Viktorovna - Director of
the Central Library System. Irina Viktorovna told us about very interesting and
diverse activities of the city libraries. Enthusiastic and hard-working
employees publish unique books for both adults and children, introducing
readers to the history of the city and its great people. Also, various regular
and one-time events are being organized within the walls of the library, which
have received the name “Intellectual leisure”.
The culmination of the expedition was the
Round Table in the Klin central library, at which the concept of the
Person-City of Klin, developed by the expedition, was presented. Round Table
Participants:
Ovchinnikova Irina Viktorovna, Director of the
Central Library System.
Petukhova Galina Petrovna, director of the
museum association.
Mitkina Galina Vladimirovna, head of the local
history sector in the city library.
Grechikhin Alexander Ivanovich, local
historian, specializing in the Great Patriotic War.
Towards the middle of the meeting, the
participants representing the Klin intelligentsia showed interest in our bold
hypotheses (the city-person lying on a map), asked questions, provided
suggestions.
At the meeting conclusion, a conversation was
held regarding the further development of the city, where we supported new
areas of work - important and spiritually educational for the growing
generation of the city - areas of museum pedagogy and active library activities
(intellectual leisure, education, etc.). As a result of the conversation, the
participants formulated the need to unite, and that it is they who must do it.
(2015)
(attended: representatives of various public
and cultural organizations of the town and region)
The Academy is developing new methods of
cultural urban studies, namely: a method of studying the city as a single
living organism.
This method is called 'scientific excursive'.
One of the methodological foundations of such a study is the concept developed
by the prominent Russian historian and local historian at the turn of the
19th-20th centuries, Ivan Mikhailovich Grevs, who was born, incidentally, in
the village of Lutovinovo, Voronezh Province, in 1860 (he died in 1941). Grevs
regarded the city as a living collective personality with its own biography,
history, character and Soul.
I.M.Grevs, speaking of local historians,
called them ascetics: in the old days, the Soul was saved in monasteries, and
now it is being supported by local history. He spoke of the “supra-organic
world,” that is, of the world of the Soul. For Grevs, freedom and culture were
inseparable. In his opinion, the creators of cultural property are public
associations and unions, that possess tremendous power and create something
that cannot be destroyed. The educated sections of society are called upon to
enlighten the people and at the same time enrich their experience. The strength
of a cultural feat, as Grevs claimed, is determined by the richness and
saturation of traditions, and at the same time, by the energy of new elements
of movement, which is clearly manifested here in Liski.
Grevs believed that the only true bearer of
culture and a source of knowledge of the world was an inspired, creative human
personality, and therefore, in his studies, he turned to the life of such
bright, outstanding individuals as Tacitus, Horace, Dante and others. Grevs
defined an era through the collective personality of a given time with its
unique biography. In addition, according to Grevs, the path of humanity to
unity lies through the brotherhood of nations.
From the point of view of geology, the
location of the town of Liski is special: the Voronezh anticlise; here along
the Don river there is a tectonic fault, which determines the features of the
relief. Hills, ravines, river bends, lowlands - all this is reflected in the
character of people in this place (I. Grevs and N. Gumilev pointed to this
relationship). The character of the person in the area is broad,
freedom-loving, open and fearless, strong and contradictory.
Based on archaeological data, in particular on
research data from the Kostenkovsko-Borschevsky complex, the Mayatskoye
settlement, Mastischa, we can hypothesize the existence of a certain ethnic
cauldron, where migratory flows from the south and the north, flowed for over
45-50 thousand years, forming first the Indo-European racial type, and later -
various ethnic groups, including the Slavs.
As for the development of the mental sphere of
a person-city, the data of geology, geography, and archeology tell us about the
subject that was formed here. This place magnetizes, attracts, collects and
holds talented people with its strong energy, beauty and majestic nature. The
beauty of the place reveals a special psycho-emotional state of human
consciousness, which is directly related to the development of culture and art
of a person-city. Hence, such an active manifestation of creative processes in
a person, explaining the large number of clubs in your town.
As for the intellectual or mental sphere, it
is formed by the totality of achievements of human thought on the scale of a
given city, which has mainly scientific potential, and that is the city's
future.
The physical body of the city is formed not
only by the biological mass of all people living in the city and the natural
environment, but also by the architectural, and industrial-productive
environment; the material values that it produces.
And this entire trinity of spheres is held by
a certain focus, which is the Soul of the City. This is not a poetic metaphor,
it is an absolutely real group of Souls of the most outstanding and advanced
figures of the city in various fields of science, culture, religion and
socio-political sphere: “These people, with their labor feats, and their
ministry, leave such a powerful mark after themselves that after their
departure from life continue to inspire us to new exploits and achievements. It
is not by chance that we try to perpetuate their memory by opening museums,
cultural centers, and erecting monuments. Thus, these ascetics continue to hold
the Life and development of the city with their invisible presence. How high is
the level of consciousness of these ascetics, so is the status of the city. The
level of their consciousness is determined by the degree of their dedication and
sacrifice ”(O. Pashinina,“ The city as an integral person, manifesting
itself in all civilizational directions of the region ”). And the whole
integrity of this human genus is the “na-rod” (people, ethnicity)- born of this
genus, while those who do not correspond to this archetype are the “u-rod”
(freaks, monsters).
Now let us consider the development phases of
human-city's consciousness, highlighting their involutionary and evolutionary
character.
The involutionary process is understood as
founding the spiritual archetype of the integral personality of the city, and
the evolutionary stage supposes passing through special initiation moments in
the biography, awakening the spiritual will, putting before the choice, the
position of responsibility for a certain part of the country's fate.
“To go into the depths of time is to go inside
oneself. [...] the depth of time is the deepest hidden stratum within man
himself. ” (Nikolai Berdyaev).
Passing history through ourselves, we examine
and learn our own depths. We study the lives of the great people of the city in
the following vein: we highlight their life credo, the ideas that they
embodied, special human qualities, methods of overcoming obstacles to achieving
their goals. For example, Alexander Karpovich Lysenko. In our opinion, his
credo is serving the people and prosperity of the city. His special human
qualities are sincerity, simplicity, philanthropy, wisdom, high organizational
and creative abilities; working capacity of the highest order.
And the next step is work with our own
consciousness, in which we rely on the experience of these people. We correlate
our life path and personal experience with their points of choice, their
ability to overcome obstacles and the qualities manifested in them.
We bring the results and methods of this work
to the world, to our socio-pedagogical, professional activities; we transfer
this experience to others. By this we come to the knowledge of the laws of
world order and internal laws, recognizing ourselves as part of the united
humanity of the Earth.
genesis,
formation and development of the city of Alexandrov, Vladimir Region
(based on materials from the 2015 expedition)
|
Events |
Cent. |
Year |
Interpretation (period of development, crises
and initiation points) |
|
Prehistory. Finno-Ugric cultures and tribes.
3-1.5 thousand years ago, in the early Iron Age, settlements of the Dyakovo
culture are formed on the territory of modern Alexandrov. In pre-recorded
times- Merya and Muroma tribes (mentioned in the “Tale of Bygone Years”
(Russian Primary Chronicle), covering the period of 5-6 centuries AD, the
early Middle Ages. |
III-I
mil. BC |
The beginning of human habitation in the
region. Prototype of the future city: its primary gathering. |
|
|
The beginning of Slavic colonization. “They
came to the territory of the Alexandrov district, mixed with the Meryans and
among themselves, from the north-west- Ilmen (Novgorod) Slovenes, from the
west-Krivichi, from the south-west- Vyatichi”. |
IX
cent. AD |
Differentiation of matter. Note: a
relatively large number of ‘sacred stones” in the vicinity of Alexandrov
(blue stones of the Berendey swamp, sledovik (“footprint stone”) in Neyelovo,
blue stone from Plescheevo Lake, etc.) |
|
|
The beginning of Christianization in the
region. |
X
cent. |
The formation of a special space (location)
within the new Rus. |
|
|
According to some reports, “in 990 AD, at
the place where Saturn cinema now stands, the first temple of Alexandrov
region has been founded- the wooden church of St Nicholas the Wonderworker.
This place was called Nikolsky Pogost. |
|
990 |
The beginning of settlement. |
|
The formation of Orthodox culture. The fight
against paganism. |
XI-XII |
“Chatter of the ocean”. Intrauterine ripening of the fetus; structuration
(muladhara). |
|
|
The historian V. Snegirev argues that the
settlement is known since the 13th century. V. Strukov says, that
the settlement is first mentioned in the spiritual testament of Ivan Kalita
(1339). S.Veselovsky relates the first mention to the 15th century
and M. Kunitsyn- to early 16th century. There is a strong opinion,
that the Alexandrov settlement was mentioned in the will of Dmitry Donskoy
(1389). «In mid 13th century, the Grand
Settlement, as it was then called, was inherited by Prince Alexander
Yaroslavich (later Nevsky) from his father, as part of Pereyaslavl
principality. In 1302, the principality passed into the possession of
Alexander’s youngest son, Prince Daniel of Moscow. Since then, the
Pereyaslavl land has forever passed into the hands of the Moscovite princes.”
“Under the rule of Ivan Kalita, the Grand Settlement volost (province) is
formed, coinciding with the modern borders of Alexandrov district within
Vladimir region. In other words, almost the entire territory of this once
wild and wooded land was declared a ‘special economic zone’. |
XIII-early
XIV |
Continued formation and maturation. Borders
are outlined, the sound (name) is manifested. Subjects- Alexander Nevsky,
Ivan Kalita. |
|
|
«The first mention of the Grand Settlement
is found in the letter of honor from the son of Dmitry Donskoy, Prince Yuri
Dmitrievich, to the Stefano-Makhrishchensky monastery in 1434. At the
beginning of 15th century the Grand Settlement is a provincial
center, popilated by the prince’s sibjects”. The Grand Settlement province was mentioned
for the first time in 1339 in the will of Ivan Kalita, Grand Prince of
Moscow. Apparently it was under his rule that these marginal Moscovite lands
began to be intensively populated. Landowners from among the Moscow boyars
(Ivan Kobyla, Fyodor Byakont and others) called on new settlers to these not
too fertile but calm lands, from other lands and principalities and gave
various benefits to “newcomers”. The center of the new province (volost) was
the village of Sloboda (Settlement), the current Old Sloboda, which later
became known as the Alexander Sloboda, most likely from the name of one of the owners. |
XV |
“Prenatal” period. |
|
|
Next to the settlement , Grand Duke Vasily
III (1505–1533) bought the small village of Kushnikovo for hunting “cooling”
and renamed it the New Village of Aleksandrovskoye. “At the beginning of the XVI century. the
name "Grand Settlement" disappears. Perhaps the settlement burned
down, and the name disappeared along with it. The history of the New Village
of Alexandrovskoye has been documented since the beginning of the 16th
century in the testament of Prince Ivan III in 1504. The oldest regional center of Great Sloboda
is the current village of Old Sloboda, which until the 16th century was
called simply Sloboda, then Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. The modern city of
Alexandrov is from time immemorial the village of Kushnikovo, that was
renamed by Vasily III to the New Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, and then simply
called Alexandrov Sloboda. In 1513, according to the chronicle, the
Prince of Moscow Vasily III arrived in the Alexandrov Sloboda settlement, and
the New Village becomes the “place for cooling (rest)” of the prince during
his summer trips to the monasteries. ” “Vasily III chose Alexandrov settlement as a
place for rest and stops on the way to the northern shrines. Here were the
prince's favorite hunting grounds. The Grand Duke of Moscow ordered the
construction of the Russian Versailles: he wanted to have a suburban
residence where he could go to hunt and roll up feasts. For five years, from
1508 to 1513, a palace was being erected on Alexandrov land, intended for fun
and enjoyment. A magnificent palace was built; Italian and Russian craftsmen
who worked on the construction of the Moscow Kremlin buildings took part in
the project. In the annals, the new buildings are designated as
"personal court" of the Grand Duke. Since 1513, Vasily III himself,
his family, and the entire princely court began to constantly visit the
Alexandrov settlement. ” “In 1513, by order of Vasily III, a stone
building was erected - Pokrov Cathedral (in the same 16th century
re-consecrated to the Trinity) with a separate bell tower. The chronicler,
under year 7022 from the creation of the world, noted that the church
"was consecrated on December 11 in the New Village of Alexandrov, then
the prince the Great entered the courtyard." |
XVI |
1508-1513 |
Birth, “baptism”: •
location delineated by choice. •
a "spine" is built: stone temple
with a bell tower. •
a path is defined (Christianity) •
a name is given: The new village of
Alexandrovskoye Subject: Vasily III. |
|
Vasily III, following the example of Western
European monarchs, decided to build a residence and chose the Alexandrov
settlement for this end. Fascinated by the beauty of its nature, the richness
of hunting grounds, the proximity to the spiritual center, the place of his
baptism — the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, the Grand Duke employed the best
Russian and Italian masters, who
earlier have built the Moscow Kremlin. In the shortest possible time, from
1508 to 1513, they erected a luxurious “Europeanized” suburban palace, one of
the distant residences of the Moscow sovereign, capable of accommodating not
only the princely family and its immediate environment, but also a
significant number of members of the Sovereign’s court, ordinary palace
servants from the court. Vasily III was in the settlement in 1525; before the
divorce from his first wife, Solomonia Saburova, in the fall of 1528, the
Grand Duke received the embassy of the Kazan Khanate in the settlement.
Vasily III’s trips to the settlement became especially frequent since the
mid-20s of XVI century. |
|
До1533 |
Expansion of possessions, land development (svadhisthana). |
|
In
1533 in the vast territories, which included the Alexander Sloboda, a severe
drought occurred; in the same year, Prince Vasily III dies. In 1534, Elena
Glinskaya ordered the construction of fortifications in the New Village of Alexandrov,
and a fortress made of a suburban residence that would provide protection
from internal enemies, if needed. From 1532 to 1563, chronicles record 11
visits of Ivan IV to Alexandrov Sloboda. |
|
1534 |
Transition point. Subject change. Beginning
of the manifestation of manipura. |
|
Ivan the Terrible. Oprichnina. “The Tsar’s court was in Sloboda, there were
troops of the guardsmen (oprichniki):“ a military guard stood three versts
from Sloboda and stopped the riders, asking everyone: who is he and why is he
going to "captivity"? With this nickname, the people, in mockery,
replaced the word "settlement" (sloboda), which meant freedom
("svoboda") in the old days. " (A.K. Tolstoy). The plot of
A.K. Tolstoy's novel “Prince Serebryaniy”, subtitled “The Tale of the Times
of Ivan the Terrible”, takes place in the Alexander Sloboda. This
"sloboda-captivity" theme is played out in another story by the
Russian playwright D.V. Averskiev - "Sloboda - bondage." The action
of the opera by N. Rimsky-Korsakov “The Tsar’s Bride” also takes place there,
in the Alexander settlement. The main characters in the opera are the
guardsmen (oprichniki), including the notorious Malyuta Skuratov ”. - The Crucifixion church-bell tower was
built by order of the first Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible after he conquered
Novgorod lands. The tsar wished to build a bell tower as a sign of the
unification of Russia. - Culture, creativity, society, politics,
religion. Alexandrov Sloboda was practically the capital, until the departure
of Ivan the Terrible in connection with the death of Tsarevich John. |
|
1565-1581 |
The formation and heyday of "Manipuric
(integrated) personality" in all its vivid manifestations. |
|
At the beginning of the XVII century, the
Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda was badly destroyed by the Poles: in 1609 and 1611
it was twice captured by troops led by Jan Sapieha. In 1609, Mikhail
Skopin-Shuisky drove the Poles out of Sloboda, winning the battle of Karinsky
field (in 2003, a memorial sign was erected on this site). In 1611, the
settlement was freed from the invaders
by Minin and Pozharsky , after which, together with the Sloboda warriors,
they marched to the captive Moscow. |
XVII |
1609-1612 |
Achievement of personal integration,
independence, self-determination, ability to concentrate forces, will. The
crisis of Manipuric personality. A need for review and a vision of one’s
individuality and smallness (insignificance). Self-awareness as a particle of
a larger whole - the state. "Reset the step." Subject change. |
|
“After the Time of Troubles, which seriously
battered the Alexandrov Sloboda with the surrounding villages and
settlements, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, like the rulers who preceded him,
continued to equip his suburban
residence in the Slobodsky camp, as this area was called at that time. Around
1630, a wooden royal palace was built for Mikhail Fedorovich on the site of
the ruined one. ” |
|
1615 |
|
|
The foundation of the Assumption Convent.
“During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, local merchants turned to
Lucian, the hegumen (abbot) of a
nearby monastery, for an intercession
before the tsar, to permit the
establishment of a nunnery on the ruins of a hundred year old royal
residence. According to the monastery annals of the Assumption Convent, on
April 15, 1650, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich permits the transfer of the former
house church of Vasily III and the Stone Chamber adjacent to it from the north,
for a “good deed”. Hegumen Lucian was the first confessor of the Assumption
Convent, after his death (1654), this post was taken in 1658 by Hegumen
Cornelius. Under his leadership, the construction of monastery buildings
began, which lasted about 20 years. The Assumption Monastery is the only
fortress in Ancient Russia that was created by female hands: the abbesses
took part in the construction of the monastery. There was worker shortage,
and the abbot of the monastery, Cornelius, hired women. Around the mid-1670s,
the Trinity Cathedral moved to the monastery. ” |
|
1650 |
Initiation point: manifestation of the
feminine principle (beginning of anahata). |
|
In 1689, after rumors circulated that
Princess Sophia with the royal archers was plotting to kill Peter Alekseyevich
and the Dowager Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, a frightened 17-year-old Peter
with his mother and wife Evdokia Fedorovna fled from his residence in
Preobrazhensky village, first to Trinity-Sergius Monastery, and then to the
royal residence in Alexandrov Sloboda. Following Peter, patriarch Joachim as
well as infantry and mounted regiments loyal to Peter , that went down in
history under the name of "amusement regiments", come here. Here in
the "German mountains", Peter conducts exercises with his "amusement
regiment." |
|
1689 |
Subject-Peter I |
|
The tonsure of Peter I's sister Martha (nun Margarita). |
|
1698 |
"Feminine", maternal, bearing,
birth-giving principle. Accumulation by the city of consciousness, depth of
heart, warmth. |
|
The tonsure of Peter's first wife Evdokia
Fedorovna |
XVIII |
1718 |
|
|
The imprisonment of Menshikov's sister-in-law Barbara |
|
1728 |
|
|
Banishment of Tsarevna (Princess) Elizaveta Petrovna by Anna
Ioannovna |
|
1729-1741 |
|
|
On September 1, 1778 by decree of Catherine
the Great, Sloboda was transformed into the county town of Alexandrov,
Vladimir-Kostroma governorship. In 1781, the coat of arms was granted to
Aleksandrov “by the highest permission”, in 1788 the first regular plan of
the city was approved, which formed the basis for subsequent developments.
Since 1796, Aleksandrov became the county town of Vladimir province. |
|
1778 1781 1788 |
Initiation and dedication point in the
biography of the city; new status, the beginning of a new stage in the fate
of the state. The coat of arms is a conceptual symbol, a reflection of
purpose. City plan - a mental concept for further
development. A mental aspect arises (transition to the 5th plane, vishudha). |
|
On May 1, 1818, there was a big fire in the
city; all the wooden structures were burned out on the city's suburban side,
almost half of all Aleksandrov. Historians believe that this event
prevented Alexandrov from becoming a major industrial center. |
XIX |
1818 |
“Fiery cleansing”, manifestation of the
internal strength of spirit, baptism by fire, where the city stood firm and
was reborn in a new quality of spiritual strength and support to the state. |
|
Since the beginning of the XIX century -
powerful development of factory production and trade, manufacturers and
merchants, the development of construction, trade communications. |
|
|
The period of enhanced integration into the
life of the country and abroad, the expansion of ties, the "system of a
single blood flow." Active manifestation of the mental sphere,
educational activities. |
|
Railway station, construction and expansion
of the railway system |
|
1862-1870 |
|
|
In 1874, a gymnasium for women was opened -
the first official educational institution, and in 1875 - a three-year city
school. In the 1890's a trade, parish primary and carpentry schools were
founded, as well as a workshop for girls |
|
1874 |
|
|
Railway terminal is built |
XX |
1903 |
|
|
“Alexandrov Republic” |
|
1905 |
|
|
Bloodless change of power. Local newspaper
founded |
|
1917 |
|
|
First power station |
|
1930 |
Electricity and ether are 'taken to work':
wave processes, nervous tissue. A vivid scientific aspect arises in the city,
which continues to be revealed for many years. |
|
Relocation of Radio Plant No. 3 |
|
1932 |
|
|
In the XX century, Alexandrov gained fame as
the “capital of the 101st kilometer”, where public figures who became victims
of Stalinist repressions were forced to reside. Among them are the Hungarian
writer Jozsef Ländel, the artist Victor Toot, the translator Boris Leytin,
the architect and archaeologist Pyotr Baranovsky, and the physicochemist Lev
Polak. |
|
The repression years |
The influx and powerful concentration of
intelligence, bringing new scientific, creative and social ideas. |
|
During the war years, about 13 thousand
Alexandrovites died, defending the Motherland. |
|
1941-1945 |
The city gives its sons, sacrificing a
particle of itself to the life of a country, a larger whole. The
self-awareness of the city. |
|
On October 26, 1956, the laboratory building
of the All-Union Research Institute of Piezomaterials (VNIIP) was put into
operation in Aleksandrov. In a short time, the institute not only gave new
jobs, but also introduced the spirit of intellectualism into the purely
"proletarian" Alexandrov. On April 10, 1963, VNIIP was transformed
into the All-Union Scientific Research Institute for the Synthesis of Mineral
Raw Materials (VNIISIMS), the technology and products of which for a long
time had no analogues in the world. |
|
1956-1963 |
Work with crystals as the highest point set
by the person-city through a specific science (crystals are a very special
class of matter, "custodians", "converters" and
information "translators" of various kinds, tools for virtuoso and complex
work with energy of various types). |
Working hypothesis: the city of Aleksandrov “showed the quality of
a crystal” throughout its existence, being a “drive”, “converter” and “relay”
of certain ideas built into the “board” of Russia.
Spiritual biography and qualities of the
City-Person of Zaraysk
Based on materials from the expedition of the
Universal Synthesis Academy
to Zaraysk, 08/07/16. - 08/13/16.
Group composition:
Leader - T.A. Pleshakova.
Members of the expedition: O.V. Pashinina,
E.V.
LoskutovaN.V. Bolshakova, M.V. Vorobyova,
T.I. Domasevich, V.N. Sirotkina,
N.A.
Anokhin, M.Kh. Vorontsova.
Zaraysk is one of the unique cities of the
Moscow Region. The city is located in the southeast of the Moscow region, on
the right bank of the Osetr (Sturgeon) River.
In this work, we tried to reflect the
milestones of the city biography, its features and qualities, not from familiar
outwardly descriptive positions, but from the point of view of the spiritual
meaning of the events in its life.
Antiquity of Zaraysk land
The uniqueness of the place where the city is
located is connected, first of all, with the fact that the number of
archaeological sites in Zaraysk is almost twice as high as the average for the
Moscow Region. Also, it should be taken into account that not everything is
excavated yet. In addition, these are the oldest sites found in the Moscow
Region dating from 24–22 millennia BC.
Almost all archaeological epochs are
represented here, starting from the Upper Paleolithic: Kostenkov-Avdeev, Yenev,
Dyakov, medieval. What does this mean, and what are the implications?
We consider archeology not only as a material
heritage. Behind every archaeological layer is a cultural, civilizational,
spiritual trace that was left by every ancient people living here. Thus, the
civilizational and spiritual power of this place grew with the advent of each
subsequent archaeological era and culture.
Based on this, we can say that Zaraysk has
deep spiritual and cultural roots. These roots are not just diverse, they are
universal, since the peoples who lived here brought and developed a wide
variety of traditions.
The culture of the Upper Paleolithic,
discovered on the territory of Zaraysk, shows a high organization for its time,
which we see in the construction of dwellings, in a clear orientation of the
focal line. The high organization of the settlement allows us to talk about the
developed mentality of ancient people.
Figurines of ancient Venuses and bison, which
are the "pearls" of the Paleolithic collection of ancient Zaraysk,
even if they were not made by local craftsmen, but brought from far away,
testify to the fine mental organization of the ancient people who inhabited
these territories.
The later Mesolithic Ienevo culture, with its weapons
craftsmanship, carried with it a spirit of strength and militancy.
The place itself not only preserved material
objects over time, but fixated a substrate of a continuously growing mentality
and consciousness of ancient residents of different eras.
This deep cultural and spiritual root in many
respects amounted to the potential of the place itself, on which the ancient
city of Zaraysk later arose.
City Formation
The city establishment dates back to the turn
of the 12th – 13th centuries and is associated with the most important event
described in the Tale of the Bringing of the Icon of Nicholas Zarazsky from
Korsun (Chersonesos). The appearance of the patronage of St. Nicholas the
Wonderworker at the time of the icon acquisition here is not accidental.
This event crowns all the cultural and spiritual achievements of previous
civilizations. The Zaraysk Kremlin was built as a “stone frame” of the icon of
St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and in fact as a defensive fortification of the
spiritual Source.
This time for Zaraysk is kind of “axial”, it
is no coincidence that the history of the city begins from this time and is
associated with the arrival of the icon.
It is here, at this moment, that the unity of
the deep multilayered cultural and spiritual root and the high spiritual Source
arises.
The history of the city is not created by
itself, it is created by people living on its earth. Thus Zaraysk was built by
great subjects who became the founding fathers of the city. These are Prince
Theodore Yurievich and the priest Eustathius, who brought the icon of St
Nicholas from Korsun.
It is worth noting a very important point
here, which will become a definite trend in the history of the city: spiritual
groups of sorts, guiding the life of the city under the guidance of a high
spiritual Source, represented by a statesman and a clergyman.
Time of Troubles and the Heroism of Zaraysk
The next important stage in the life of the
city is associated with its new spiritual status - not just as an independent
administrative unit, but as a part of a larger whole - the state. At the
beginning of the 16th century, Zaraysk joined the Moscow Principality and
became its southern outpost, repeatedly deflecting the raids of the Crimean
Tatars.
During the Time of Troubles (beginning of the
17th century), when neighboring principalities submitted to the Lithuanians,
Zaraysk, with the support of the Ryazan militia and led by D.M. Pozharsky faced
the task of protecting the integrity of the state, as part of Russia. Thus, in
a difficult situation of choice, Zaraysk showed not only courage, but also
spiritual loyalty to the Fatherland, and a quality of giving oneself to a
larger whole.
And here we again see a group of high subjects
- the governor Prince Dmitry Pozharsky
and the rector of St. Nicholas church, Archpriest Dimitri Leontyev, whose force
kept the citizens in obedience to the rightful sovereign - Vasily Shuisky.
Modern times
Thanks to the rich ancient history of the
city, its high spiritual Source and a deep “root”, the unique potential of
modernity was laid, bearing the spiritual and cultural genes of great
predecessors.
Let us consider this continuity.
Orthodoxy powerfully rose in Zaraisk in the
Middle Ages: on the territory of a small city there were a huge number of churches,
which became a stronghold of not only spirituality, but also the mental
development of the city. It is worth mentioning the St. Nicholas Church, which
was one of the main annalistic centers of Russia and to this day is the main
cathedral of the city. Here Eustathius and his descendants for 335 years worked
on chronicles recognized as masterpieces of ancient Russian literature.
In addition, the strongholds of education in
Zaraysk were its schools, gymnasium and
specialized schools (parish, county, real and ecclesiastical).
Today the educational traditions
in Zaraysk are continued by the V.V.
Vinogradov Pedagogical College , with a unique teaching staff, whom we
were able to meet.
The heir to the ancient chroniclers, masters
of the spiritual word and educational traditions, today the city is a guardian
of the purity of Russian speech.
It is also worth listing all the great
subjects associated with Zaraysk, whose accomplishments and work built the
culture of Russian speech. An outstanding Russian philologist V.V. Vinogradov
was born here, after whom the College of Education is named. A.I. Kuprin lived
in Zaraysk, near Zaraysk F.M. Dostoevsky
spent the summers, S.A. Yesenin visited often as well. The ancestral roots of
A.S. Pushkin and M.A. Sholokhov are also connected with Zaraysk.
Thus, the scientific significance
of the city is manifested precisely in humanitarian areas: pedagogy,
linguistics, history and local history associated with the name of a notable
Zaraisk local historian V.I. Polyancheva.
A unique creative environment has developed in Zaraysk. And this is also
not an accident. We already mentioned spiritual roots; in connection to this it
is worth recalling the Paleolithic sculptures of about 22 thousand years old,
found on the territory of the Zaraysk Kremlin and testifying to the subtlety of
perception of the form and the sense of beauty of the ancient
"Zaraites". It is not surprising that this land in the 19th century
gave rise to a remarkable sculptor - Anna Semenovna Golubkina. Nowadays in
Zaraysk there are associations of artists and writers who work at a high
creative level.
The most important qualities of the
City-Person are generosity and the ability to preserve the spiritual and
cultural heritage. This was expressed in patronage associated with the name of
A.A. Bahrushin.
Summarizing our research, we have identified
the following qualities of the City-Person of Zaraysk.
On the physical plane of life:
•
perseverance,
•
selfless labor
•
courage
•
dedication to a larger whole;
at the psycho-emotional level:
•
harmony,
•
peace,
•
sense of beauty;
at the intellectual level:
•
striving for high ideals,
•
the altitude and clarity of thought,
•
purity of speech.
Thanks to studying the life of the city from
antiquity to the present, communicating with government and public figures,
creative and scientific intelligentsia, and ordinary people, we saw that the
cultural and spiritual potential of the city is huge. This is a city with a Russian
spirit. It is not by chance that this city that has an internal magnet and
everyone who comes to Zaraysk and stays here, finds one's calling, creativity,
and becomes a part of the city’s life.
Today, the city faces an important and
interesting task - not just to preserve its uniqueness, but to reveal it on a
larger scale, to enrich Russia with this unique culture.
All the assets of the Person-City are the
assets of the Person- Russia.
TEACHING MATERIALS
FOR EXPEDITIONS
LIST OF EXPEDITION WORK AREAS
·
Geology.
·
Geography, climate, landscape, rivers,
mountains.
·
Toponymy and hydronymy.
·
Archeology.
·
Ethnography.
·
History.
·
Folk culture (traditional crafts and trades);
writing, folklore, oral literature, visual arts, icon painting.
·
Manufacturing
·
Military glory.
·
Architecture (urban planning, ancient and
contemporary architecture, religious architecture).
·
Religion: prehistoric, primeval religions
(paganism, cults, ceremonies, shrines, sacred groves, mountains etc),
Christianity and other religions, heresies.
·
Art. Fine arts (painters, composers, writers,
poets). Museums.
·
Science (various fields).
·
Community organizations.
·
Spiritual and philosophical movements.
(sample
route)
I.
Scientific and educational work
1. Visit to the Museum of Local Lore.
Area of Interest: geology, cultural
geography, natural landscape, history of the region, migration of tribes;
factors influencing the formation of culture and the mutual influence of
cultures of various ethnic groups living in this territory; the interdependence
of the natural world and the world of culture. Toponymy and hydronymy.
2. Archeology
Acquaintance with the museum exposition.
Visits to excavation sites, barrows.
Area of interest: the concentration of archaeological cultures
and heritage (from the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages) on the historic city
territory.
3. Urban planning.
·
City Tour.
Area of Interest: the principle of initial development, the
first city plan; cultural landscape; house-museums of famous people - cultural
figures
4. Ethnography and history
Visit to the ethnographic museum.
Visit to the carriers and custodians of
traditions.
Meeting with pagan and Slavic culture
societies.
Area of interest: features of the traditions of ethnic groups
living on a particular territory (rituals, customs, beliefs, spells, sacred
stones, groves, etc.); cultural diversity and unity of humanity.
5. Living traditional culture
1) Material culture:
·
Visit to a museum.
·
Meeting with the masters.
Area of Interest: arts
and crafts.
2) Spiritual folklore heritage
·
Meeting with folklore groups.
·
Meeting with living carriers and keepers of
songs and oral traditions.
Area of interest: culture and regularity of creative forms:
urban, rural, oral, written (tales, epics, etc.), national, ethnic,
geographical territory, historical period, social group, separate tradition.
Participation in a rehearsal.
5. Places of military glory
- Visits to places of military glory
- Visiting museums of military glory
Area of interest: acquaintance with the subjects - heroes of
military glory, study of the military history of the place.
6. Art and culture
·
Meeting with theater groups.
·
Visit to an art gallery, art museum.
·
Meeting with painters, sculptors.
·
Visiting the house-museums of writers,
composers, artists' workshops.
Area of Interest: cultural and social strata, innovators,
practice.
7. Spiritual culture (religion)
·
Pilgrimage to the holy places.
·
Visit to one of the monasteries with Christian
shrines (relics of saints, miraculous icons, holy water sources).
·
Meeting with representatives of different
spiritual traditions(including universal ones).
Area of interest: spiritual societies (except psychics,
magicians, etc.), liturgy, monastic labor (if possible).
8. Science and education
·
Visit to a University and a Pedagogical
Institute.
·
Meeting with innovative educators.
Field of Interest: new methods of upbringing and education;
universal and individual approaches to different social groups
Trips to historical and cultural complexes
(presumably to the three most interesting historical cities where the heritage
has been preserved):
·
archaeological culture (excavations - burial
mounds, burial grounds);
·
natural and cultural landscape with elements
of traditional culture of different ethnic groups;
·
architectural and natural complexes;
·
ethnic culture (museums);
·
fortifications, castles;
·
carriers of traditions.
II. Independent research work
- in a library with materials of a given
territory.
of the conducted summer scientific field expedition
1. GENERAL PART
1.1. Expedition Description:
- School
- Course
- Number of participants
- Expedition Dates
- Name of the region.
1.2. The expedition composition (list):
- number of mentors (full name, school)
- number of participants (full name, school)
1.3. Distribution of duties:
- expedition leader
- responsible for finance
- resp. for academic work and work with
consciousness
- resp. for order and discipline, mode
- resp. for ethics of relationships
- resp. for groceries
- resp. for inventory and tech part
- resp. for physical health, etc. (+ first-aid
kit)
- resp. for photo and video
- resp. for transport
1.4. Goals, tasks of the expedition.
2. SPECIAL PART
2.1. Historical, cultural, archaeological,
ethnographic characteristics of the area, era, population, objects (from
antiquity to the present day).
2.2. Spiritual and religious traditions,
rituals, rites associated with the
objects of study.
2.3. The list and detailed characteristics of
spiritual monuments and objects of study, architectural features (according to
the literary data, indicating a detailed and accurate bibliography: author,
title, year of publication, page, library).
2.4. Characteristics of the terrain and
objects:
- map of the area (to be attached)
- a detailed plan/diagram of each object
(sketch, photo - from different angles)
- connecting the object to the terrain: a
detailed description of the object location on the terrain, landmarks, azimuth,
etc.
- a description of the object itself (type of
monument: temple, dolmen, etc., height, shape, degree of preservation, etc.)
- dating, etc.
2.5. Detailed description of the route:
- schedule of work with the objects: date,
name of area, name of object, type of work;
- timetable, indication of the type of
transport, route, station, stop, landmarks, etc.
2.6. Information about the established (and
necessary) contacts:
- scientific, cultural, spiritual (indicating
the full name, address or place of work, contact phone number).
2.7. Information about places of possible
residence (with a detailed address, full name of the chair - for potential
correspondence).
2.8. Brief geographical, climatic
characteristics of the area and its features.
2.9. Information about the financial and
economic activities:
- The planned calculation grocery consumption;
- the actual grocery consumption (in general -
for the entire expedition team and on average - for 1 person);
- financial expenses:
- transport
- accommodation
- food, etc. (in general and per 1 person).
2.10. Information about the necessary
inventory and specialized equipment.
3. EDUCATIONAL AND METHODOLOGICAL RESEARCH
WORK AND WORK WITH ONE’S CONSCIOUSNESS
3.1. The daily routine by hours (in detail).
3.2. Detailed (daily) work schedule:
- educational-methodical (indicating specific
topics and methods - by groups);
- research (indicating dates and specific
objects);
- curriculum: topics, literature - by day;
- methods: name - by day, -physical practice;
3.3. A detailed report on educational and methodical
work.
3.4. A detailed report on the results of an
independent group study.
3.5. Consciousness Report:
- crises and their overcoming
- about the "step" of consciousness:
- individually
- group
3.6. Analysis of errors, difficulties.
3.7. Additions, recommendations.
4. NOTES
4.1. The above report of the MENTORS group
must be accompanied by the reports of the students on educational-methodical
research work, as well as on working with consciousness and the
"step" taken.
4.2. The report also includes all the
necessary photo-, video-, audio- and other materials on the expedition work, which together with the report will
constitute the “Expedition Diary”.
4.3. It is also advisable to prepare an
"Album (photo) of the expedition."
ARTICLES ABOUT I.M. GREVS
Ivan Mikhailovich Grevs was born on May 4,
1860 in his father's estate near the village of Lutovinov, Biryusinsky
district, Voronezh province. His ancestors came from England, who moved to
Russia back in the times of Peter I; the English spelling of the surname was
Greaves.
Grevs' parents were both from Kharkov. The
father, Mikhail Mikhailovich Grevs was a soldier in his youth; he took part in
the Crimean War of 1854 - 1855, was a hero of the Sevastopol Defense and,
wounded in one of the bastions during the famous siege, retired at the end of
the war with the rank of lieutenant. He spent the rest of his life in his small
estate.
The mother, Anna Ivanovna Grevs (nee
Bikoryukova) - a serious, calm woman - gave all her energy to raising three
children - Ivan, Dimitri and Elizabeth. Maternal seriousness, concentration and
quiet disposition were passed on to her eldest son.
In 1879, Grevs graduated from the Larinsk male
gymnasium in St. Petersburg. Afterwards, he entered the Faculty of History and
Philology of St. Petersburg University, where the circle of his scientific
interests was determined by the influence of Professor V. G. Vasilevsky.
In 1879, Ivan Mikhailovich entered the Faculty
of History and Philology of St. Petersburg University in order to prepare for a
serious pursuit in literature, an interest in which was impressed on the young man by the literary classes,
evenings and performances organized by the school teacher and the talented
pedagogue V.P. Ostrogorsky. However, the official atmosphere prevailing in
higher education system in the early 1880s, did not live up to the young man’s
hopes for intensive studies in West European and Russian philology. In the
second year I.M. Grevs was completely disillusioned in the St.Petersburg
education and increasingly turned his eyes to the historical and philological
faculty of Moscow University, where, in his opinion, the luminaries of science
taught in those years - S.M. Soloviev and V.O. Klyuchevsky.
In the early 1880s the student I.M. Grevs, an
active representative of St. Petersburg student body, did not shy from dealing
in politics. He experienced "a painful split between the Scylla of the
revolution, which was accepted by force, and the Charybdis of science, which he
could not approach." The turning point in the fate of Ivan Mikhailovich
was a meeting with Professor V.G. Vasilevskiy. In his "Notes" I.M.
Grevs wrote about this teacher: “How often accidents determine very important
facts in the fate of a person, the entire basic outline of his life. I can say
to myself that I became a medieval historian only because V.G. Vasilevskiy,
alone among the professors, managed to exert a profound scholarly influence on
me - not intentionally, but because of his outstanding talent. ”
As a final essay in 1883, Ivan Mikhailovich
wrote a work entitled "Roman-Byzantine State in the VI century. according
to the short stories of Justinian and other legislative collections of
Christian emperors, "choosing the phrase" Who does not dare, does not
achieve anything " to be the motto of the composition. On February 8,
1884, at a university gala event, the graduate was awarded a gold medal with
the inscription "Succeeded." Then, at the request of an academician,
I.M. Grevs was left at the university to prepare for a professorship and for
taking over V.G. Vasilevskiy’s chairmanship in the near future .
Ivan Mikhailovich considered interaction among
friends to be an integral element of the
university studies; it initially arose on the basis of the preparation of
lithographed lecture courses by professors for printing and the participation
of university students from various faculties in the work of the Scientific and
Literary Society (1882-1887). The student "brotherhood" over the
years has grown into a friendship of I.M. Grevs with the Oldenburg brothers:
historian Fedor Fedorovich (1862-1914) and orientalist Sergei Fedorovich
(1863-1934), philologist Dmitry Ivanovich Shakhovsky (1861-1939), natural
scientist Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (1863-1945), historian Alexander
Alexandrovich Kornilov (18 1925), historian Lev Aleksandrovich Obolyaninov (b.
1861), botanist Andrei Nikolaevich Krasnov, lawyer Sergei Efimovich
Kryzhanovsky (1862-1935), doctor Nikolai Grigoryevich Ushinsky (1863-1934),
lawyer Nikolai Vasilyevich Kharlamov (1860-1925), historian Aleksandr
Sergeevich Lappo-Danilevsky (1863-1919) and others. Over time, the ideological
and moral foundations of the Union, filled with friendship and family ties,
have grown into husband-wife relationships. The constant companions of the
"brethren" were: Maria Sergeyevna Zarudnaya (1860-1941), married name
Grevs; Natalia Egorovna Staritskaya (1860-1943), married name Vernadskaya, a
cousin of M.S. Grevs; Alexandra Pavlovna
Timofeeva (1864-1891), married name Oldenburg; Maria Dmitrievna Bekaryukova (b.
1864), married name Oldenburg, cousin of I.M. Grevs; Elena Dmitrievna
Bekaryukova in marriage Lappo-Danilevskaya, cousin I.M. Grevs Anna Nikolaevna
Sirotinina (1860-1951), married Shakhovskaya; Tatyana Alexandrovna Kornilova,
married Kharlamova; Ekaterina Antipovna Fedorova (1867-1942), married Kornilova.
After graduating from St Petersburg
University, I.M. Grevs, while working on his master's thesis, devoted himself
to teaching in high school; he gave it about two decades of his life. Teaching
humanitarian disciplines (psychology, history, geography) in private and
special male and female secondary schools of the capital, the young scholar
believed that every future university professor should have experience teaching
in elementary school, since “the most difficult explanation of various objects and
phenomena may to be the simplest explanation to a children's audience. ” It is
not surprising that an attentive and grateful audience always gathered around
the teacher.
In 1884-1889, I.M. Grevs devoted himself to
the development of individual questions, related to writing a master's thesis,
for which he studied the state structure of the Roman Empire in its last
centuries.
The preparation of master's thesis was delayed. In 1888-1889
Grevs successfully passed his master's exams and set off on his first trip to
the West in the summer of 1889.
Upon his return from abroad I.M. Grevs was
approved as a privat-docent of St. Petersburg University in the department of
general history. In January 1890, he began lecturing at the university.
Since 1892 I.M. Grevs began to teach the
Higher Women's (Bestuzhev) courses, with which, according to the professor,
“fate itself” has connected him. The wife of Ivan Mikhailovich and his eldest
daughter Ekaterina studied at these courses as well. Grevs, being a popular
professor, lectured on general history and taught seminars; prepared and
conducted short and long excursions with students (for example, in 1907 and
1912 two trips of participants in the professor's historical seminary to Italy
took place); as a talented leader, he headed the historical and philological
department of courses; as a progressive-minded public figure, he repeatedly
defended the first women's university from attacks by slanderers in the
periodical press and from the university pulpit. With short breaks I.M. Grevs
taught the Bestuzhev courses until 1919, that is, until the time of their
merger with the Petrograd University.
In 1899, I.M. Grevs published the first volume
of his dissertation entitled "Essays on the History of Roman Land
Ownership, mainly during the Roman Empire," and in 1900 he defended his
master's thesis.
In 1899-1902 Grevs was suspended from teaching
at high school. In the major student unrest that took place in February 1899,
the teacher took the side of the student youth, unable to resist expressing his
own opinion about the actions of the rector V.I. Sergeevich. It was a sad
chapter in the scholar's biography. Upon returning to the university I.M. Grevs
was elected professor and took over the chair of the Department of World
History.
At the beginning of the XX century, the main
concern of I.M. Grevs at the university was the subject system organization,
which was associated with the introduction of a number of special courses and
seminaries in the program, as well as the need for special research rooms and
libraries. The subject system gave I.M. Grevs the opportunity to expand the
scope of pedagogical activity and show his characteristic initiative.
In the 1900-1910s, despite the great social
and extra-curricular burden, I.M. Grevs continued to give a significant amount
of lecture courses and conduct practical classes at his alma mater. Ivan
Mikhailovich was a talented lecturer and gathered large audiences. Numerous
testimonies of his students testify to his lecturing prowess.
The professor’s return to high school
influenced the birth of a qualitatively new kind of a seminar. It was called
the “historical seminary” and consisted of five departments (historical,
philosophical, Russian philology, classical and the art museum, joined later by the cabinet of auxiliary historical
disciplines). Among the students of Ivan Mikhailovich who attended his
historical seminary, in addition to his young pupils, were his former students,
well-known future historians and local historians (N.P. Antsiferov, T. B.
Lozinskaya, E.Ch. Skrzhinskaya, V.V. Bakhtin, O.A. Dobiash-Rozhdestvenskaya,
G.P. Fedotov, L.P. Karsavin, A.N. Shebunin, E.V. Ernstedt, J.P. and N.P.
Ottokar, E.Ya. Rudinskaya, K. .V. Frolovskaya and others). The professor was
associated with many of them in a special state, which he called the “unity of
the soul,” based on complete mutual trust, faith in each other’s humanity,
backed up by common creative motives. The students noted the paternal attitude
on the part of the teacher (in letters they called him nothing else but
'Padre'). In relations with many, he showed himself to be careful, attentive,
sympathetic, encouraging mentor and friend. From the students I.M. Grevs
expected a loyal attitude to the ideas of the seminary fraternity, but tragic
disagreements arose on this basis, for example, Ivan Mikhailovich painfully
experienced a break with L.P. Karsavin. Teaching - the professor's main
aspiration, was the fullness of his creative life. Being a scholar “from the
heart, not from the mind”, he drew “food for the heart” from history, and
therefore his upbringing by history was akin to the focus of mental and moral
influence on his students.
In his pedagogical activity I.M. Grevs gave a
special place to historical excursions as a particular way for "bringing
students closer to history." Out of pedagogical interest in historical
“near and far” excursions conducted as part of the educational process,
enthusiasm for native studies was born, in the 1920s and early 1930s growing into a professional occupation in local
history. Grevs, who was laid off for the second time from the university
(according to the official version, due to retirement), was among the many
humanitarian intelligentsia who found the application of their special
knowledge in the field of provincial history and antiquities. The development
of historical study of local lore in the 1920s - early 1930s. was the result of
global changes in the socio-economic and political history of Russia; it took
place during the crisis of the new system and was forcibly suspended at the
time of the strengthening of the new official ideology. The professor turned
out to be somewhat prepared for new social tasks.
In special local history publications I.M.
Grevs has published dozens of research articles and essays. He wrote that
neglect of local historical processes and objects will lead to the
disappearance of the "living fabric of the past", without which it is
impossible to contribute to the process of humanization of historical knowledge
as a whole. Using the extraordinary methodological flexibility of local
history, he proposed the use of synthetic methods of scientific research within
the framework of homeland studies.
As a conceptual comprehension of Russia's
historical past, Ivan Mikhailovich worked on the creation of an integral canvas
of local history, putting forward in an effective way to unite the “spiritual
consolidation of the local community”, which recognized itself as an important
part of the whole people and humanity.
In the early 1930s "Old Grevs,"
"non-partisan," as his junior university colleagues called him, was
again called up for public service. The force attracting him to the Leningrad
University, an educational institution dear to his heart, was so great that he
was ready to forget the “retirement” of ten years ago in order to again appeal
to students in his native department. Fate was merciful to him. In the
1934-1935 academic year, the professor returned to Leningrad University, where
he taught at the Department of the Middle Ages. In 1938, he was awarded the
degree of Doctor of Historical Sciences. On May 17, 1940 the staff of the
Faculty of History, most of whom were his students, celebrated the scholar's
80th anniversary; the celebration took place, at his request, "within the
walls of the university, modestly and among his own."
In the last years of his life, Ivan
Mikhailovich continued to work a lot. Along with scientific plans, he set
himself educational and pedagogical tasks.
The life I.M. Grevs, devoted to the ascetic
ideals and service to science, is a typical and at the same time illustrative
example of a “university biography” of the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. A
fighter, an idealist who believed in the progress of science, the evolution of
the human mind and the perfection of the human spirit, he was proud that he
embodied the ideals of youth in his daily professorship at the university
department.
Literature:
·
Vakhromeeva O.B. Ivan Mikhailovich Grevs - a
famous universant: a man, a teacher and a scholar.
·
Lychko A. The concept of excursions by I.M.
Grevs.
IVAN
MIKHAILOVICH GREVS
(From thoughts of the past: Memoirs /
introduction, contents, footnotes and list of names by A. I. Dobkin. - M. :
Phoenix: Cultural Initiative, 1992. - 512 p.)
“You truly
know and understand only someone you love; you will find the proper foundation
and the right colors in your mind and imagination only to portray those you
love. I start with reverence and a sense of responsibility. ”
Thus wrote Ivan Mikhailovich, proceeding to
the story of the circle of F.F. Oldenburg and his friends. And so it should be.
Love opens the eyes, endowing them with special sharpness of sight. But the
tongue goes numb, and the pen becomes even more powerless. A sense of
responsibility does not help me; it embarrasses me, suppresses me.
We called him 'padre'. He himself wrote to me
on April 22, 1934: "... padre not only by the nickname, but also by the
inner being, who is now experiencing with you that which fills your heart, with
all the forces of the soul."
I know in advance, that I will not be able to
recreate his image, which for thirty-two years has been the pillar of my life,
and until the end it will shine for me beyond the bounds of its being. And yet
I decided to tell, to the best of my ability, all that was deposited in my
memory. Perhaps, through my powerless notes, even occasionally, the features
defining the appearance of my dear padre and the uniqueness of his life path,
could be glimpsed.
The word 'padre' meant more to me than to many
of his students. I lost my father when I was barely 8 years old.
The memory of my own father has not
extinguished in my soul. Even now, at under 60, I occasionally see him in a
dream. And I, who had lost my father so early, conscious of the created emptiness,
was always drawn to an elder, whom I could lean against with love. In the years
of adolescence and early youth A.F. Fortunatov, the father of my friends, has
become for me such a revered and beloved leader in life. In my student days,
Ivan Mikhailovich became the friend and teacher with whom filial love has
forever bound me. Ivan Mikhailovich became my padre.
I remember the first time I saw him. At the
end of the break between lectures, along the long corridor, one of the first
walked a tall professor with a graying head, slightly inclined to one side. I
was told that this was indeed Grevs. He slowly entered the audience and climbed
to the pulpit. Ivan Mikhailovich read lectures in the “Historical Seminary”.
His auditorium was separated from the corridor by the seminary library.
In a small room of the historical seminary,
students sat around desks. Only two portraits hung on the walls: Mommsen and
Ranke. (Why not Granovsky?) There, the tall figure of Ivan Mikhailovich seemed
extremely slender. A swarthy face with a trimmed, whitened beard stood out in a
frame of graying hair, combed back. Nothing professorial or decorative: neither
long curls, nor a waving beard, like Marx's. Something modest, almost shy, and
at the same time, full of noble grace and dignity. The movements were soft and
restrained. Characteristic gesture: focusing on his thoughts, he bowed his head
to one side and put a finger on his nose. Ivan Mikhailovich's forehead was very
high, but not wide. Together with his nose it made an almost straight line.
Black eyes looked intently, and it seemed to every listener that Ivan
Mikhailovich was addressing him particularly. Sometimes his face shone with a
smile, unusually clear and gentle. And from that smile, everything seemed to
brighten around.
He began the lecture in somewhat quiet, even
stifled voice. But gradually the voice grew stronger and richly bloomed with
intonations. In the speech of Ivan Mikhailovich there was nothing oratory, no
pathos. But it was gracefully built and brightly colored emotionally. This
restrained excitement was transmitted to the audience. Many appreciated the
excitement of Ivan Mikhailovich, but some grumbled: "the old man has
slobbered." More than once I had to defend my teacher before my comrades
from reproaches of "sentimentality." The experiences of Ivan
Mikhailovich were very deep, sincere and intense. There was no bloating in
them; on the contrary, outwardly they were very restrained. And it seemed to me
that Ivan Mikhailovich, unlike Zelinsky, was weary when he noticed that his
voice was beginning to tremble. This voice was surprisingly young and remained
so until the end, even when Ivan Mikhailovich lisped slightly in old age due to
a tooth loss. He liked to end his speech with the word “here” and at the same
time he extended a hand folded in a pinch. In this “here” was a sense of
satisfaction from whatever has been said.
Vyacheslav Ivanov, after meeting with I.M.
Grevs in 1918, wrote about him, characterizing
his
appearance:
Your
late return is wonderful
With
greetings from the distant past
And
the voice, still young,
A
familiar sound, beloved brother!
And
the same dark eyes,
Suddenly
youth will look up from their midst,
Are
sometimes still fogged
By
the tear of quiet delight...
The
content of the lectures by I.M. Grevs corresponded perfectly to what I was
looking for in a historian-teacher. Each of the two courses he taught in
1909-1910 gave me something, due to which I began to study history.
A
lengthy introduction preceded the general course of the French Middle Ages, in
which Ivan Mikhailovich developed a universal-historical point of view on
history. Following Fustel de Coulange, he considered the Middle Ages in close
connection with the legacy of ancient Rome (and Hellenism). He fought with the
point of view of "Germanism", which proceeded from the idea of a
break in the historical process, as a result of which the Germanic tribes began
a completely independent, dominant culture on the ruins of the collapsed Roman
Empire.
(In
essence, Spengler also shared the same view of isolation of individual
cultures.) Ivan Mikhailovich ardently defended the idea of the unity of the
process of universal development. History is a biography of the human race, and
Ivan Mikhailovich quoted us Boethius, who in prison wrote his work “Consolation
in Philosophy”:
О felix hominum genus
Si vestros animos amor
Quocoelumregitur, regat.
Hominum
genus (human race) is the subject of history. This doctrine of the continuity
of cultures, of the impossibility for each of them to completely disappear, of
the continuation of the life of one culture in another, contained a great love
for humanity, faith in the vitality of its foundations, and, finally, a pious
attitude to the faded generations, good faith in that nothing perishes, but in
one way or another preserves its being in successive generations. Hence the
interest of Ivan Mikhailovich in the problem of “Renaissances”. The Middle Ages
were not a "night of culture" that separated the Renaissance from
antiquity. In this "night" here and there the centers of
"revival" of ancient culture flashed. Such, for example, is the
“Carolingian Renaissance” or the era of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. And Ivan
Mikhailovich with remarkable skill revealed ancient traditions in these "Renaissances".
Much later, after graduation, when I was preparing for master's exams, I
understood the peculiarity of my teacher. His defense of the Middle Ages was
that, from his point of view, the Middle Ages, in essence, were at their best
moments and periods the exponents of ancient traditions. Ivan Mikhailovich did
not seek to protect the Middle Ages with their own values, precisely with what
distinguishes them from other eras. He sought their similarities to Rome and
the New Age (here, of course, the Middle Ages are meant here only within the
millennium of the 4th-14th centuries).
The
romantics (for example, Chaadaev or Novalis) sought in the Middle Ages those
values that other eras did not possess (the idea of international unity
stipulated by the Christian church, social harmony in workshops, chivalry,
etc.). Ivan Mikhailovich was not a romantic, he called himself a "realist
historian." Belief in progress (although sometimes experiencing acute
crises) was characteristic of Ivan Mikhailovich. This faith made him seek in
the Middle Ages the “eternal values” inherent in all eras. All this, however,
did not at all make Ivan Mikhailovich a nomothetic, that is, a historian who is
interested not in the individual, but in the general, looking for general
principles in historical phenomena, and in events only material for
generalization. Ivan Mikhailovich always strove in history for the concrete,
and consequently, for the individual. And in each "renaissance" he
revealed special, unique features, characteristic to it alone . One of his
mottos, as that of Kareev, was Ranke's "wieeseigentlichgewesen." He
carefully studied the facts to restore the picture of the past in all its
specificity.
Ivan
Mikhailovich did not agree with Fustel de Coulanges, whom he highly
valued, in all respects : for example,
he did not agree with the notion that historical processes are “blind” and
“impersonal.” Grevs always looked for individual traits, the “face of an era”,
“the face of culture” or “the face of a city”. In this regard, his second course,
"The Spiritual Culture at the End of the Roman Empire", was of
particular interest to me. This course was devoted mainly to the
characteristics of individuals: Lactantius, Paulinus of Nola, Ausonius,
Sidonius Apollinaris and others.
Ivan
Mikhailovich did not raise the issue of the role of personality in history. He
sought to recreate individual human images that expressed in themselves
particular aspects of the historical process, various eras, various cultures.
And since history is a biography of the human race, so these images of
individuals were called by Ivan Mikhailovich “images of humanity”. (He thus
called, to the publisher A.F. Perelman’s dissatisfaction, a series of
biographies, which he edited at "Brockhaus and Efron" during the revolutionary
years.)
Ivan
Mikhailovich aptly called this method of disclosing an epoch through an
individual personality the “biographical method”.
Thus in
his dissertation on Roman land ownership, he brilliantly applied this method to
characterize deep social processes, and at the end of his life, when he worked
on Thrasea, Seneca and Tacitus, he continued to use the same method.
Ivan
Mikhailovich sought, by the precept of Tacitus, to expound the history sine ira et studio (without anger and
passion). But his impartiality was limited by a deep and ardent moral feeling.
He was especially attracted to spiritually beautiful personalities and, in any
case, those who were the bearers (or seekers) of truth. Such are Augustine,
Francis, Dante. These were his heroes. This is the sharp difference between
Ivan Mikhailovich and E.V. Tarle, who was especially attracted by strong minds
and wills, even those of completely immoral persons (Napoleon, Talleyrand).
I
especially remember the lecture of Ivan Mikhailovich on Paulinus of Nola, which
he gave on December 7, 1909. This was the lone bearer of ancient culture in the
era of the victories of barbarism. And at the same time, Paulinus was imbued
with deep Christian pathos. He was an ascetic, but a representative of a rare "bright" asceticism. He
lived with his wife Teresa as brother and sister. Their spiritual marriage was
illuminated by unprecedented happiness. The mild climate of southern Italy
developed a poet in him. (Incidentally, Paulinus is credited with inventing the
ringing of bells.) These are the fragments that have been preserved in my
memory. I can’t convey this quiet voice of the teacher, so young and focused,
telling about life long faded away, resurrected before us, young men entering
the university as a temple of science, about a life illuminated by such a soft
light. Times parted. I saw a distant shore. The end of antiquity and the dawn
of the Middle Ages were an era that especially worried my young mind with its
evening colors, fading in a thunderstorm and tempest and merging with the
morning dawn of a new era.
(The
same keen interest to that time drew me to Hertzen, who constantly returned in
his thoughts to the end of the ancient world).
When
Ivan Mikhailovich finished his lecture on Paulinus and left the pulpit, there
was silence. We were seized by some wonderful meditation. At the direction of
Ivan Mikhailovich, I then read The Fall of Paganism by Gaston Boissier. This
book was nowhere to be obtained, and I went in the evenings to work on it in
the Public Library. I went there with Tanya Oberucheva, and together we
returned to the Petersburg side.
We
walked along the quiet alleys between Kamennoostrovsky and Bolshoi Avenues.
These were the days when a lot of snow fell. White brocade sparkled with stars
from the bright light of the moon. I remember a church near Sitnaya Market,
similar to the one I saw in Tronjem. And everything that was around me then, I
perceived through the prism of images of bygone times, those images that the
teacher was able to recreate with such art and such love.
Each
era has its own flavor, its own special "sound", it can be called
couleur temporal, as there is couleur local. But this smell, this color can
only be conveyed by a historian-artist. Not an aesthetic historian, admiring
the heroic deeds, the colorfulness of culture, the brightness of personalities,
but the one who comprehends the depth of all movements, who hears the
"long vine vegetation"; these movements, which took place in separate
eras, in the souls of individuals and entire nations, can be recreated within
themselves and passed on to others only by the artist-historian, who at the
same time is able to warm everything and to comprehend it with a deeply
penetrating moral light.
So did
Ivan Mikhailovich revealed himself to me in his lectures on Paulinus of Nola.
This for me was a prelude to Augustine, Francis of Assisi and Dante. Five years
later, Ivan Mikhailovich led a proseminarium devoted to the same problems. Yuri
Nikolsky, later a literary critic, made an excellent report on Paulinus and his
wife Teresa.
In
1910-1911, the classes with Ivan Mikhailovich were interrupted by a general
strike. With rapacity, we caught rumors about the behavior of our professors,
about their attitude to our struggle. We were delighted by the act of N. O.
Lossky, who, having risen to the pulpit and seeing not his usual listeners, but
strike-breakers, refused to give them a lecture .
What is
heard about Ivan Mikhailovich? With great sadness, I learned that he gave the
next lecture to two or three of his regular listeners. It was very painful for
me, and I decided to go to his house (for the first time) and find out the
motives of his act. My question: “How could you give lectures when we declared
a general strike?” has insulted him. “You ask me, -he began, “as if you want to
say how you could have done such a dishonest thing?” I answered him that if I
really suspected the possibility of a “dishonorable act” on his part, I would
not have come to him, but I would like to know his view of our strike.
Ivan
Mikhailovich detailed and patiently highlighted his position. He said that he
does not believe, in our time, in the possibility of the existence of such a
government, which in its various activities would not cause just indignation
and desire for protest and struggle. But should the struggle find expression in
university strikes? Science is the most important factor in progress. It is
unacceptable to make young people’s readiness for scientific activity be
dependent on the actions of the authorities. The university should, like an
infirmary during the war, remain under the white flag. Only one decade of the
new century has passed, and how many semesters were ruined by strikes. This all
poses the most serious threat to Russian science.
Ivan
Mikhailovich did not convince me, he did not even shake my opinion. I believed
that the university and other higher educational institutions should, until the
final victory of the revolutionary movement, remain its faithful and reliable
centers. We students, like vestals, must support the unquenchable fire of the
revolution. Ivan Mikhailovich was very sad because we spoke in different
languages; it seemed to him that I could become his student in the full sense
of this big word. But he understood my youthful hot conviction, and he was
ready to respect it in me. And I? The deep grief of my beloved professor, with
which he spoke about the fate of Russian science, his firm faith in his truth,
made an indelible impression on me. True, I remained with my own, but left with
even greater love for Ivan Mikhailovich than I went to his house with my
question: “How could you give a lecture?”
* * *
Already
in the 1st year, Ivan Mikhailovich told us that the pulpit often fences the
professor with a wall from his students. He invited those interested in his
course to come in the evening to talk with him on topics of interest to us. In
the philosophical auditorium, where a portrait of Vl. Solovyov was hanging,
gathered about 8-10 students. Ivan Mikhailovich arrived, as always, exactly at
the appointed 7 o’clock in the evening. Unfortunately, we were all timid, and
our professor was not able to stir us up, no matter how hard he tried, posing
questions to us himself. Such conversations, but with our active participation,
resumed after a few years. The themes of the seminaries of Ivan Mikhailovich
were distinguished by the fact that they were worked on for several years.
Thus, we studied the Dante's treatise “DeMonarchia”, directed against the
secular authority of the popes, involving all of Dante’s works, and the
commentary on the treatise turned into large independent studies. So, for
example, the theme “The Idea of Eternal Peace” was explored. The rapprochement
with Ivan Mikhailovich was also facilitated by the fact that we studied at his
home, and, free of calls announcing the end of classes, sometimes lingered
until late.
Gradually, we formed a circle that did not
break up even after graduation from the university. Ivan Mikhailovich in those
years was very passionate about the ten-volume novel “Jean Christophe” by
Romain Rolland. He translated these 10 volumes with great love and
thoroughness, naturally giving the translation his stylistic features, perhaps,
in some cases, sacrificing the accuracy of the transmission. This translation
was made by him without any thought of the possibility of printing it. Many
years later, in the year 1928–1929, the Vremya publishing house invited Ivan
Mikhailovich to publish his work. This plan was not implemented: experts did
not approve of the less popular, difficult style of the translator.
It
seems that in 1915 or 1916, Ivan Mikhailovich suggested (then no one was familiar with "Jean
Christophe") to present us the contents of this novel with abundant
extracts from it. Our meetings at our padre's table lasted two semesters. Ivan
Mikhailovich with amazing skill illuminated the whole life path of Jean
Christophe. R. Rolland was able to make us feel both the beginning of life and
its end emanating from eternity and merging with eternity. Ivan Mikhailovich
read with such enthusiasm that the images and positions he recreated were
imprinted in my memory with more power than the theater stage could achieve. In
particular, I remember the place when Jean Christophe, to the question of his
friend Olivier, what life is, answered: “Tragedy, hurray!” This acceptance of
life, with all its tragic essence, was akin to the padre itself, although his
“hurray” did not have that note of challenge that was inherent in the fighter
Jean Christophe.
Ivan
Mikhailovich, showing a realistic, akin to Leo Tolstoy, basis of R. Rolland's
work, showed his symbolic side as well. The hero of the novel (the
personification of life force) is called Krafft - power. His friend, fragile
and tender Olivier is an olive (tree of peace). This is the motive of an
ancient French epic: Rolland (the name of the author himself) is power, Olivier
is his friend, the peace, as I recall, is a refrain constantly repeating. Jean
Christophe’s uncle, bringing peace and harmony, - Gottfried ("God's
peace"). The invisible friend of Jean Christophe, who was his good genius,
is Grace (mercy, grace). Coming from the bosom of the people - Emmanuel
("God is with us"), that is, the God of history with the sons of the
people. And finally, the young generation: the son of Olivier - George
(Victorious) and the Grace's daughter -
Aurora (Dawn), are combined in a marriage. This symbolism ends in the epilogue:
St. Christopher carries on his shoulders the nascent day of the new era, le
jour, qui va naitre! Subsequently, I had talks with a number of connoisseurs of
R. Rolland, and not one of them thought of this name symbolism.
I think
that Ivan Mikhailovich dwelt on it and revealed its meaning, because he had
gone through the school of Dante and, in general, the Middle Ages. Something
related the path of Jean Christophe in circles of life to the path of Dante,
with the significant difference that the path in the “Divine Comedy” goes in
the right spiral: in Inferno (hell - Italian), Descending to Cocytus, in
Purgatorio (purgatory - Italian ), rising higher and higher to the stars (puro
e disposto a salire alle stelle).
“Dear
Peter Semenovich! The other day, Dmitry Moiseyevich Petrushevsky spoke with you
on the matter that I am writing about, but I would like to present it in more
detail. When the Vremya Publishing House planned to release the complete works
of Romain Rolland in its plan, I invited its editors to use my translation of
his novel, Jean Christophe, and they were ready to use it; but the matter
dragged on, and my question about where things stand was answered that the
choice of translators and the entire editorial staff of the publication was
entrusted to you by R. Rolland himself. I regret that Vremya Publishing House
did not warn me earlier so that I could personally contact you with a proposal
for my translation; but I hope that maybe time has not been missed yet. It
would be especially dear to me to participate in the translation of Jean
Christophe, since I was very close to this work; I was given a task of translation
of the entire novel by the editors of World Literature several years ago, and I
prepared the first six volumes (L'Aube, Le Matin, L'Adolescent, La Revolte, La
foire sur la place and Antoinette). The translation was accepted, but its
publication did not take place after the termination of the enterprise itself.
Of course, it would be dear to me to use this translation now; but if these
volumes have already been assigned to other persons, I love this thing so much
that I would gladly take up work on further volumes or some of them (I would
especially value the last two - Le buisson ardent and La nouvelte journee). If
you find it possible to allocate for me a part that you find convenient, I will
be grateful to you: I am looking for literary work due to circumstances, but
this work would be completely welcome for free, I believe that I would have
performed it satisfactorily precisely due to my affinity to the author in this
work.
If, to
my chagrin, “Jean Christophe” has already completely slipped away from me, then
with genuine pleasure I will tackle other works of my favorite Rolland, namely
the three biographies, Clerambaut and the first volumes of the new novel.
Dmitry Moiseevich said that you found it possible to offer me his book on
theater; I wouldn’t refuse this book, but, I admit it, with less readiness:
this is perhaps the author’s weakest work - just like his drama. If you would
give me at least part of the first volumes of Jean Christophe, I would improve
my translation by carefully revising it (I would especially value the first -
L'Aube and the fourth La Revolte); if you give the latter - with zeal I will
take up a new job. At one time, for "World Literature", I
half-prepared a book about Romain Rolland, which especially helped me to get
used to his thought and work.
Let me
hope that you will respond with something positive to my proposal: I will look
forward to hearing from you. Sincerely Yours Va.Iv. Grevs. (...) (USSR State
Archive of Literature and Art. F. 237. On. 1. Unit 34. L. L-2).
And in
"Jean Christophe" the same broad coverage of the entire era. Humanism
(humana civilitas), so characteristic of our padre, also attracted him to
Romain Rolland. That year the First World War raged. Hatred has become a civic
virtue. Chauvinism has embraced all circles of society (in addition to the
broad masses of the people). Scientists around the world quarreled in solemn
declarations, declaring themselves defenders of civilization. Only R. Rolland
spoke in his novel "Clarembo" and in the novel "Pierre and Luce",
and, first of all, in the articles of "Au dessus de la melee" against
the preaching of hatred. Russian scientists, also captivated by the general
stream, sent their German colleagues a sharp condemnation. Three professors
refused to sign this message, as far as I remember, these were Petrazhitsky,
Zhizhilenko (or Kareev) and Mikhailovich.
Then
we, his students, in order to express our solidarity, presented him with a
portrait of Romain Rolland, which those of us who then served in the Public
Library found in some modern French magazine. Nowadays it is probably difficult
to understand what courage was then required to refuse to give one's signature.
Keeping away from the bout, Ivan Mikhailovich, however, was not a defeatist. He
did not believe that a revolution could break out in victorious Germany, and
considered the triumph of German imperialism to be the greatest disaster for
humanity.
In a
personal origin, he saw value of social life as well. Our padre was especially
interested in the problems of love, and particularly of friendship, which he
considered even more valuable than love (amor, not caritas). In his analysis of
"Jean Christophe" he paid great attention to the themes:
"Christophe and Olivier" and "Christophe and Grace". Ivan
Mikhailovich really appreciated the friendship between a man and a woman. He
believed that friendship is meaningful and effective when friends complete each
other, and, therefore, when they represent different personalities. From this
follows the great replenishment in friendship of persons of different sexes.
Ivan
Mikhailovich himself was very rich in friendships all his life. The friendship
between him, the Oldenburg brothers F.F.
and S.F., D.I. Shakhovsky, A.A. Kornilov and V.I. Vernadsky, which arose during
the student years, passed through their whole lives and ended only with death.
I loved
to witness their meetings, hear their “thou”s (informal "you" in
Russian), their affectionate conversation. F.F. Oldenburg was already gone by
then. S.F. Oldenburg, the Permanent Secretary of the Academy of Sciences, was
the youngest in their midst and was somewhat different from the rest in both
his external and internal appearance. He had an air of a European with his
gracefully trimmed beard, his lively manners and the inner mobility that helped
him to join the Soviet era so quickly, to believe that this was a new era. His
friends each in his own way accepted the revolution, but basically they
accepted it as a well-deserved retribution for the sins of the old regime. All
of them resembled Greek philosophers with their long beards and long hair (but
not to the shoulders) . Wise clarity reflected on their noble faces. The type
of these individuals will disappear with them. Its first representatives among
us were: Herzen and Ogarev. Friends of Grevs are the last link in this chain.
Their "brotherhood" originated in the 80s. They pulled their wives
into it, they dreamed of jointly raising their children in their spirit. But
... we give birth to children, not creating them. The son of Oldenburg and the
son of Vernadsky did not follow in the footsteps of their fathers. With all the
mutual love between fathers and children, the intransigence of their social
positions revealed itself here: young Oldenburg and young Vernadsky found
themselves in exile.
All
friends were survived by V.I. Vernadsky. I sometimes liked to visit him. The
clarity of his soul, calm and firm faith in the triumph of light and mind -
touched me. It seemed to me that the focus of his mind on cosmic problems
nourished this clarity of mind. We often remembered Ivan Mikhailovich. Once I
brought Vladimir Ivanovich the last two portraits of his deceased friend.
Vernadsky, greatly excited, peered into his features. Then he asked when the
pictures were taken, by whom and where - and he marked everything on the back.
Then, to calm down, he took some medicine. He told me that he managed to track Alla
- the daughter of a friend of Catherine Ivanovna Grevs, Felia, and to assist
her. Such is their friendly tradition. This was my last meeting with the last
of I.M. Grevs's circle. Vernadsky died three days later.
Herzen
wrote that he remained with "the religion of the individual." The
same “religion” was inherited by the circle of Ivan Mikhailovich. The story of
their friendship, I believe, will find its own researcher.
So, at our evening meetings, Ivan Mikhailovich
touched on topics of love and friendship. Quite unexpectedly, they were warmly
picked up by the rest of his students and provided material for a series of
reports for the winter of next year. As far as I remember, reports were read on
the following topics on friendship and love: Epicurus, Cicero, Gregory and
Basil the Great, Augustine and Nectarius, Francis and Jacoba Settesolis, Dante
and Beatrice, Michelangelo and Colonna, friendship of the Jena romantics, Byron and Shelley, Herzen and Ogarev, N.A.
Herzen and A.I. Herzen, Marx and Engels. It was a departure from the tragic
reality of those years. A kind of "feast during the plague", a
spiritual feast - a symposium. This could happen because that year we were all
au dessus de la melee and that was the tragedy of our situation.
Thanks
to this home seminary, we became close friends with the family of Ivan
Mikhailovich. This strong, loving family wore constant mourning. This mourning
was expressed not in black crepe, but in that unity around the grave of
Shurochka, the prematurely gone daughter, in that cult of her memory that was
constantly felt in the Grevs household.
A large
portrait of Shurochka, painted in oil, hung in their living room. Clear girl
smiling with a bright smile. I would like this portrait to be painted in
watercolor or pastel. A friend of Shurochka, Lelya Nechaeva, once told me:
“Thinking of her, you remember that Blok girl who“ sang in the church choir
about all those who were tired in a foreign land, about all the ships that went
into the sea, who forgot all their joy ”” . And it seemed to me that both Ivan
Mikhailovich’s wife, Maria Sergeyevna, and his daughter Katya had forever
forgotten “joy”, keeping the memory of Shurochka. Ivan Mikhailovich was saved
by his creative scientific interests, the ability to love friends and numerous
students, an inexhaustible interest in life, and, in particular, a deep and
unshakable faith.
It
seemed to me that the whole meaning of life of both Maria Sergeyevna and
Ekaterina Ivanovna focused on Ivan Mikhailovich. It was a cult, a real cult,
which found its full expression after his death, when all his manuscripts, all
personal items became an inviolable shrine.
Mother
and daughter had a lot in common, but also a significant difference. Both of
them were very demanding on people, especially in everything related to Ivan
Mikhailovich. His friends complained to me that they sometimes complicated
relationships and even spoiled them. Olga Antonovna Dobiash-Rozhdestvenskaya, a
student of Grevs, the most talented and most “successful”, was a great friend
of her teacher. The last years before her death, their relationship was
complicated by ideological disagreements, but the bitterness that mixed in with
these disagreements was brought about by the intervention of relatives of Ivan
Mikhailovich. So, at least, claimed Olga Antonovna.
Mother
and daughter were demanding to life as well. The high moral atmosphere
surrounding Ivan Mikhailovich nourished this exactingness, this striving for
the ideal. Both of them were dreamers with a very fragile mental organization,
with great refinement of feelings. Everything indelicate, rude - bothered them.
I think that they suffered a lot not only from the real, but also from the
perceived evil. With this similarity, there was a profound difference in them.
Maria Sergeyevna was very lively, mobile, active. She was very responsive,
sensitive. Thanks to her kindness, she hid her difficult mental states and could
seem cheerful. She considered it her duty to express sympathy for people even
when they were alien, even unpleasant to her. This heightened expression of
their feelings seemed to some to be prolonged, even insincere, but, in fact,
was rooted in her benevolence. I knew her cordiality, her ardor, which often
warmed both me and my Tanya. She was the godmother of my Svetik, who called her
his "kreka(?)"(from “krestnaya-“godmother”).
Was
there a complete unity in the marriage of Ivan Mikhailovich and Maria Sergeevna?
It is very difficult to judge even for the closest people.
They
did not have complete unanimity, it seemed to me that they did not live in one
world. This does not diminish the strength of their mutual love, the strength
of their inextricable, blood connection, cohesion, fixed throughout a lifetime.
Ekaterina
Ivanovna, as it seemed to me, was nearer in her emotional life, more unanimous
with her father. But unlike her parents, she was closed and incredulous. There
was less kindness and sympathy in her. She went into her own special world of
music. On it lay a kind of gloomy shadow, which was hard for her parents. Ivan
Mikhailovich dearly loved his daughter and was always concerned about her state
of mind. I knew in Ekaterina Ivanovna some kind of peculiar daydreaming of a
Russian idealist, daydreaming that was not killed in her by the disappointments
that were inevitable with her exactingness and suspiciousness.
For all
their differences, the three of them made up an amazingly complete family. Even
in the whole atmosphere of their home, this wholeness, unity of taste was felt,
in which, of course, the taste of Ivan Mikhailovich dominated (furniture and
its arrangement, paintings, photographs - all of them were common, in all
rooms).
People were drawn to them from all sides.
Colleagues from the university (Pokrovsky, Parchment, D. Grimm) and historians
(Lappo-Danilevsky, less often - Kareev), students, and everyday friends
(Weber). Very close to the Grevs family was the widow of Gisetti. I met with
them various people warmed up by them. The Grevs family rarely spent an evening
without guests. Their servant was also a member of the family, deeply devoted.
Their living room never resembled a salon; "smart conversations" were
not obligatory there. Even silence did not resemble a flying silent angel.
Silence
was never a constraint. I always felt comfortable and simple; but how often I
felt some special sadness in this family. I explained it by the shadow, the
memory of the dead Shurochka, stretched over their lives, and the fear of
possible new losses. And if Ivan Mikhailovich himself, along with Jean
Christophe, could still say: “La vie c'est la tragedie, hourra!”, neither Maria
Sergeyevna nor Ekaterina Ivanovna could repeat it.
I
entered the house of the Grevs family as my father’s house after all the ruins
of my life: after the death of my children in 1919, and after my return from
the cemetery, from the grave of my Tanya, in 1933.
Sometimes
I spent the night at the Grevs household. I got the bed made by the kindest
Elizaveta Ivanovna (a housekeeper who became a house ruler) on a sofa in Ivan
Mikhailovich’s office. When I woke up, the first thing I saw was the padre at
his desk. A wide brown robe gave a sort of calm and freedom to the appearance
of Ivan Mikhailovich. How I loved his gray-haired head with such a clear,
peaceful expression, bowed over quarters of paper, which he always leisurely
filled with his "Gothic" handwriting. And I was always reminded:
How I
love his calm appearance
With
his soul immersed in the past
He
keeps his chronicle.
I
didn’t have a chance to think, "what is he writing about." Ivan
Mikhailovich worked on his Tacitus (in the last chapter of this book he
invested so much of his own, personal). I silently contemplated him, not only
because I did not dare to tear him from work, but also because I felt so good
looking at him, at this bright face, at this calm, majestic sight. And I wanted
it to be like this forever. Meanwhile, a cuckoo jumped out of her brown house
and said that merciless time was passing.
An
outstanding scholar, Ivan Mikhailovich did not care at all about the
publication of his works. The drawers of his large table were full of
manuscripts. Ivan Mikhailovich worked with amazing generosity, devoid of the
slightest self-interest. The direction of his will was towards the students. He
was an ideal scholar-teacher. This feature attracted Ivan Mikhailovich to work
in high school. But life did not bring him a crop of disciples worthy of his
labors and his love. True, the current academician Kosminsky in the Dictionary
wrote about a special school of I. M. Grevs.
But
these students, outstanding scientists, were not spiritually close to I. M.
Grevs. The brilliant L.P. Karsavin in those years was distinguished by a kind
of mental voluptuousness. He not only loved the subtlest analysis of various
medieval systems, the elegant constructions of his sophisticated mind, he loved
to subvert the accepted by liberal science. So he denied the theory of
progress, and pragmatism. His religiosity was opposed to the spirit of
positivism and had a sharp aesthetic coloring. He wanted to see the Divine on
the other side of good and evil. These trends were reflected in his later
books: Saligia (The Seven Deadly Sins) and Noctes Petropolitanae. Karsavin’s
works are the “World of Art” in science.
Nikolai
Petrovich Ottokar with a sharp, sober, critical mind was much more real in
science than his colleague. He was primarily attracted to accuracy,
concreteness. His specialty was the history of medieval cities. Like Karsavin,
he denied the theory of progress. Like Karsavin, he was an esthete who
appreciated form above all. In both cases, opposition was felt with respect to
the idealism of Ivan Mikhailovich, his humanism, his focus on the moral side of
man, his interest in personality, and an outstanding personality as an
expression of culture. Lev Platonovich created a special theory of the “average
person” as a construction through which
an epoch can be known. Nikolai Petrovich focused on the concrete expression of
historical processes and paid little attention to the individual. Both of them
were equally alien to both idealism and materialism.
Denying
pragmatism, destroying causal relationships, they removed the very question of
base and superstructure. For them, idealism and materialism were only a method;
the era can be studied starting with the knowledge of ideas (idealism) or with
the knowledge of the economic foundations (materialism), it doesn’t matter,
since neither one nor the other is the cause of this or that historical
phenomenon.
Relations
with these students were difficult for Ivan Mikhailovich; these were his
prodigal sons. As I already wrote, relations with Olga Antonovna have developed
much better. She was closest in spirit to Ivan Mikhailovich of all his older
students. Closer to Ivan Mikhailovich was my generation, as well as his
“grandchildren” (students of Olga Antonovna). But there was no one to be found
among us who would continue his work. (Except Khomentovskaya, and she was more
engaged with the Renaissance). His student N. N. Rosenthal did not follow in
the footsteps of his teacher.
The
lives of each of us, both male and female students, led far away from medieval
studies.
In all this was the tragedy of the scientist
and teacher who sacrificed so much as a scholar for his work as a teacher who
wanted to see in his students the successors of his scientific line, completing
the work that he started, but not finished.
excursionary
practice and philosophy of memory
in the
work of I. M. Grevs and N. P. Antsiferov
(Journal
"Domestic Notes" No. 4 (43) 2008)
Appeal to memory is a symptom of the breakdown
of historical consciousness, the need to bridge the gaps that have arisen in
the picture of history, to restore its connectivity and one's connection with
it at the moment when the previous forms of this connection lose their natural
state. It is characteristic that attempts to restore in this way the “sequence
of history” (J. Rüsen), which would seem so promising and in many respects
really productive, nevertheless turn out to be internally conflicting,
constantly indicating the conventionality of the position found. This conflict,
which is generally characteristic of mature modernist self-consciousness,
manifests itself in those heated debates that accompany the “history of memory”
almost from the moment it appeared in the public and scientific consciousness.
Modern theories of “history-and-memory” refer
us to those social and intellectual processes that are traditionally united by
the concept of postmodernism. However, some Western researchers, such as, for
example, O.G. Oexle or F. Hartog, indicate that the sources of reflection, in
the refined form represented by these modern theories, could be found back in
the late XIX - early XX century [1]. This article is dedicated to one of the
earliest experiments of this reflection - the theory of memory formulated by
Russian historians I. M. Grevs and his student N. P. Antsiferov. The fact that
this theory was largely inspired by the practice of historical excursions makes
it especially interesting in the context of the enthusiasm of modern scholars
for studying the problems of “places of memory”. Today, there are a number of
studies devoted to studying the connection between visiting memorial sites and
the formation of historical experience. For the most part, we are talking about
commemorative practices, patriotic education and formation of the image of
national past [2]. Describing the theory of excursions and the concept of
memory in the works of Grevs and Antsiferov, I would like to show how this
theory not only corresponds to a certain strategy of scientific research, but
also absorbs the impulses of modernization processes and responds to social and
historical cataclysms carried by them.
Development of excursion business [3]
The development of excursion business is
traditionally conceptualized in the context of the design in the second half of
the 19th and early 20th centuries, of such an as important sphere for modern
societies, as tourism [4]. The formation of a system of touristic objects,
combining a growing number of historical and natural attractions, the formation
of mass travel infrastructure (the hotel industry, the globalization of
communications, the publication of travel guides), the emergence of
institutions and communities that ensure its functioning, not only created the
conditions for conducting excursions, but also became the background to shape
their ideology. An important factor in the development of excursion business
was the transformation of the secondary education system, which began in the
mid-19th century, during which, as an alternative to the “classical” model,
more oriented to the study of ancient antiquity, the “real” education model was
gradually approved, in which the emphasis was on studying natural sciences and
foreign languages [5]. The idea of excursion arising in the framework of this
model expresses the desire to overcome the abstraction of education from real
life, to increase the “subjectivity” and the complexity of teaching [6].
In the 1890-1900s, the process of
institutionalizing the excursion business has accelerated: departments and
commissions specializing in organizing excursions and their methodological
support appeared in the structure of a number of pedagogical and tourist
societies, and then state institutions. The concept of "excursion",
which was then in widespread use, encompassed a wide variety of trips - from
purely recreational to educational. Along with significant organizational and
economic measures, an important event for the development of excursion business
was the development by professor D.N. Kaygorodov in 1901 of school curricula in
natural science, which was based on the excursion method [7]. At the same time,
state interest in the practice of humanitarian excursions, which was gaining
strength, was associated with the realization of their effectiveness as a means
of religious and patriotic education, instilling "desirable pep",
overcoming the isolation of youth from life and opposing the "false
preaching of negative ideas." Tours were an important tool to give the
school a national character [8]. In 1910, the Central Excursion Commission was
created at the Moscow School District, and in 1914 it began publishing the
magazine “Excursion Herald. Walking in Russia and abroad. " The editorial
of the first issue of the journal emphasized its patriotic orientation, and the
very appearance of the publication seemed to be a reaction to the surge in the
excursion and tourist movement associated with state commemorations of the 1910s:
the centenary of the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812, the 300 year
anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, etc. [9 ]
Grevs' activity in the field of excursion
business lay on a completely different plane - ideological, political and
institutional. In the most general political sense, it was connected with the
ideology of culturalism, a commitment to which was associated with Grevs'
participation in the Priyutinsky (Shelter) fraternity, formed in 1885 [10]. His
program arose in search of a way out of the impasse that the Russian
intelligentsia found itself after the regicide on March 1, 1881, “when
revolutionary propaganda looked obviously inappropriate, the triumph of power
seemed disgusting, blood - on the one hand, and on the other hand - forced us to
recoil from the right, and from the left ”[11]. "The 'Shelterers' were
animated by the belief in progress, cultural and social, while the instruments
of the struggle for it were seen as the upbringing (self-education) of the
individual, science, enlightenment, observation of the life of the people and
feasible influence on it." Members of the fraternity - D. I. Shakhovskoy,
brothers S. F. and F.F. Oldenburg, V.I. Vernadsky, A.A. Kornilov - collaborated
with the Literacy Committee of the Free Economic Society, were closely
associated with the Zemstvo movement, and subsequently became active
participants in the Cadet party. Subsequently, the commitment to culturalism
turned out to be even more pronounced with N. P. Antsiferov. Having
successfully graduated from university, he nevertheless “abandoned his
scientific career, seeing his mission in educational activity” [12].
However, for the formation of the idea of
excursions, the academic context of Grevs' activity, rather than purely
political one [13], was more significant. University excursions aimed at
introducing students to the classical heritage embodying universal values,
acted as a way to make this heritage more intimate and understandable. For
Grevs himself, an important impulse was the experience of a scientific trip to
Florence, which he made with his wife in 1890-91. Recalling this trip, he
wrote: “Such wanderings (walks in Italian cities. - B. S.) strongly moved me
forward, determined the serious features of my taste, which later stood at the
center of the originality of my personality as a historian: the study of
material monuments, especially via a journey through monumental cities ”[14].
This trip turned out to be important for Ivan Mikhailovich in a more special
scientific sense, because it allowed his interest in the study of historical
topography and urban culture to be realized and, on the other hand, became an
impulse for reflection on the importance of comprehending the city for the
study of history.
Subsequently, the experience of these
"wanderings" was taken into account by Grevs in his work on the
historical education reform [15]. Considering excursions not just as a form of
organizing leisure activities and an important element of not only the
worldview, but also the professional development of a scholar, Grevs became one
of the initiators of introducing them into the practice of university life.
Excursions seemed an important step towards introducing practical exercises
into the educational process. “Excursions should become a permanent integral
element in the study and teaching of history in secondary and scientific
schools. At the university, this is a necessary type of historical seminary”[16].
It was about the specialization of a historian’s training due to the
development of the subject system and the system of special courses and
seminars instead of the previous one, based mainly on general courses. This
feature distinguished the Grevs' excursions not only from mass excursions, but
also from other foreign student excursions [17].
The concept of excursions embodied the
important principles of the method of studying cultural history that Grevs
developed. Overcoming the costs of the expansion of positivism in historical
science, he sought to expand ideas about the subject and possibilities of
historical knowledge. The affirmation of culture, understood as the “spirit of
the epoch”, as the primary object of study and the principle of historical
synthesis and the individualizing approach as a method for implementing this
synthesis was associated by the Grevs school with criticism of “external”
explanations in history (the concept of factors, etc.) , with the expansion of
ideas about historical reality and the search for its “deeper”, “internal”
layers [18]. Instead of the positivist attitude toward the purification of
reality from subjective fiction, in the works of Grevs and his students, we see
a desire to understand "myth", "legend",
"religiosity", that is, the subjective perception itself, as part of
historical reality or even as its being. In accordance with these aspirations,
the rethinking of the criteria of knowledge reliability was carried out, the
priorities were changed in the selection of historical sources and the
technique of working with them. The search for manifestations of the "psychic
element" of a source author or the "vital element" of an era
increased the importance of not only the "literary" sources, but also
the aesthetic and stylistic aspects of any source, in which more direct
manifestations of the past were seen. The basis of the described changes in
working with sources was the desire to achieve a greater vitality of experience
and presentation of the past, to directly and personally feel a connection with
it.
From here follows the cognitive meaning of the
excursion as a form of historical work. Giving the opportunity for more direct
contact with the past, the tour crowns a long cycle of preliminary scientific
studies. “Direct observation of diverse archaeological monuments of art and
daily life in the natural setting, that has nurtured them, gives in one day a
bright and sparkling life to a long string of facts, that for many months were
researched with painful effort in heavy thick folios and still remained foggy”
[19]. Grevs characterizes the excursion as “an important means of teaching the
historian’s skill,” supplementing other forms of education with an appeal to a
new type of sources and contributing to “deepening knowledge, testing concepts,
generating ideas and clarifying techniques and skills for their extraction” [20].
“From books to monuments, from the office to the real stage of history and from
the free historical air, again to the library and the archive! Such should be
the motto that would symbolize in the historian the interaction of various
factors determining the possibility and strength of his work ”[21]. At the same
time, the brightness and freshness of impressions, as well as the fact that the
main object of the excursion for Grevs are not museums, but monumental
landmarks of the city, all this gives the excursion experience a specific
quality of immediacy and contact with the past as such [22].
The city as an object of excursion also had a
philosophical-historical dimension for Grevs. The most important principle of
his historical worldview was the recognition of biography as the embodiment of
the integrity of history. Eternal humanistic values were perceived by him
through the prism of “images of humanity”. Grevs considered “spiritually
beautiful personalities,” such as Dante or Francis of Assisi [23], as creators
of enduring cultural values, and at the same time, as exponents of the
originality of the era, its “couleur temporal" [24]. The tendency towards
a symbolic understanding of the individual in history, ultimately justified by
the understanding of history as a biography of the human race [25], was also
projected by him into the sphere of urban study. “The city,” wrote Grevs, “must
be understood as something internally whole, as a special" subject ",
a collective person, a living being, in whose" face "we must peer,
understand its" soul ", know and restore the" biography of the
city "” [26]. It was no accident that he was very close to the idea of
genius loci - the “spirit” or “genius of the place”, revived by the English writer
V. Lee. This understanding was also shared by Antsiferov, as the titles of two
of his major works, “Soul of St Petersburg” and “Ways to Study the City as a
Social Organism,” unequivocally testify to. Thus, in studying the city, the
moral imperative of studying history is transformed for them into an aesthetic
imperative, since the city embodies the complexity of culture and at the same
time possesses the integrity inherent in the body and personality. This
integrity is given visually and is accessible to empirical study.
The main result of Ivan Mikhailovich’s own
efforts to develop this educational practice were his travels to Italy in 1907
and 1912, organized by him for his students. These excursions completed the
seminars he led to study various aspects of the late medieval and Renaissance
culture [27]. Their route was appropriate. Here is how N.P. Antsiferov
describes it in his memoirs: “Venice, Venezia la Bella, was planned as a point
of entry to Italy, and Rome, Aurea Roma, its conclusion. From Venice we had to
drive to Padua, then to Ravenna (the place of Dante's exile and death). The
main city of our trip, its climax was Florence. Here we had to live two weeks
with a trip to Vallambrosa and Alverno (the mountain where Francis of Assisi
received the stigmata). After Florence were planned Pisa, San Gimiano, Siena,
Perugia and then a pilgrimage on foot to the cherished Assisi. ”[28].
These excursions (and excursion experience in
general) turned out to be an important factor in the formation of Grevs' own
scientific school, the creation of which he dreamed of at the beginning of his
university career [29]. He thought of school not only as a professional
community, but the spiritual closeness of its members was just as important to
him [30]. Being a supporter of the idea of academic autonomy, he perceived
science as a way of discovering the humanistic content of history. That is why
for him the figure of a “teacher of science” was significant, that transfers to
his students not only professional skills, but also his own worldview guidelines.
In this regard, it is important to note the
contribution of Grevs and his students not only to the organization of
excursions, but also to the development of the corresponding genre of texts.
The first experience of this kind was the essay “Scientific Walks in Historical
Centers of Italy (Essays on Florentine Culture)” published in 1903, writing
which Grevs was guided by the European tradition of the genre of historical and
cultural travels, represented by the names of J. Ruskin, I. Taine, G. Boissier
and others. The author sees his task in making ample travel literature to fill
in the lack of books and brochures that could serve as a “reliable ideological
guide for a wanderer seeking serious education” [31]. In this and his
subsequent works, Italy appears as the “best school of humanity” [32]. A
tribute to the genre of "scientific walks" was given by many students
of Grevs [33]. But, of course, the most perfect examples of this genre can be
considered the works of N. P. Antsiferov, above all, the books “Soul of St
Petersburg” and “Dostoyevsky's Petersburg”.
The tourist experience and its comprehension
Including tourist experience in his
professional and worldview horizon, a historian finds himself in an ambivalent
position: the processes of creating tourist infrastructure that format the
sights and make them accessible, at the same time turn into the destruction of
their natural environment [34]. By creating history, modernity kills tradition.
Turning to the works of I.M. Grevs and N.P. Antsiferov, devoted to historical
excursions, we will consider how the problems of historical knowledge unfold
and transform within the framework of self-reflection of such a significant
practice as tourism for modern culture.
Recalling his first trip to the West, Grevs
notes that the practice of tourist acquaintance of Russian youth with the
cultural centers of Europe at that time was still relatively rare. Noting the
growth in the intensity of cultural tourism at the turn of the century, he
enthusiastically calls this the “degeneration of Russian inertia” [35].
However, in later texts by Grevs and Antsiferov we find criticism of tourism,
which acts as a kind of negative background for their reflection on excursions.
This criticism is part of the rejection of modern bourgeois culture that
dominates their work. According to Russian historians, the perception of a
tourist is characterized by stereotypes, superficiality and inability to deep
experience [36]. “The tourist is insatiably greedy. He wants to see more of
everything, but he wants to see just what is being talked about, and his
gluttony avoids internal labor, he perceives everything with ease, like a
gourmet savoring truffles ”[37]. The quality of tourist experience is
determined by its belonging to mass culture: in 1903, Grevs, characterizing the
perception of the city by a tourist, gives the image of a confused string of
figures, "alternating quickly, like in a moving photograph"; in 1923,
Antsiferov writes about the conditioning of this perception by cinema, along
with tabloid novels and the "tinsel luxury of bourgeois culture"
embodying the "disastrous influence of modernity" [38]. Antsiferov
denounces "tourism" and "guidism" as the worst enemies of
excursion business. The caricature of the tourist in the texts of Antsiferov is
presented - in the spirit quite traditional for critical self-reflection of
tourism - mainly by the images of foreigners. Most bad traits of tourist
psychology are found among the British and the Germans. At the same time,
criticism of tourism is included in the traditional discourse of the negative
self-reflection of the intelligentsia. In this case, its object, along with
tourists, are the 'everymen' and 'philistines'. Representatives of this social
type, “widespread in all sectors of the population”, represent the least
favorable audience for the excursion method [39]. They tend to look for beauty
“outside the ordinary conditions of life” and value the “decorative moment”
[40]. Excursion groups assembled from the mediocre folk are incapable of
"collective experience and vivid perception." Thus, the image of the
urban inhabitant, the 'philistine' of Antsiferov, is made up of almost the same
characteristics (utilitarianism, individualism, superficial perception) as the
image of a tourist. In this regard, the institute of guides is under fire as
well. Relations between a guide and a tourist form a kind of “vicious circle”:
“a guide is a servant of the interests of a tourist, a tourist is a slave to
the skills of a guide” [41].
Unlike a tourist inspection, the purpose of a
“scientific walk” is to settle in the urban environment, allowing yourself to
feel its integrity. “... One of the rare pleasures and spiritual blessings,”
wrote Grevs, “is to feel an inner connection with several centers of culture,
to enter them like one's house ..." [42]. An important role is played by
the first perception of the city and the further rhythm of communication with
it. “Whoever has the time, should also not give in to the athletic greed of a
professional tourist from the first minute or immediately impose the pedantry
and busyness of a researcher on himself” [43]. Immersion in the past of the
city is built, thus, like a musical composition, which has its own andante and
its own scherzo. This communication with the city necessarily includes not only
high intellectual pleasures, but “simple bodily pleasures” - relaxation,
delicious and inexpensive food. The completeness of perception is enhanced by
the experiences typical of a modern city, such as, for example, “loneliness in
a crowd”. As a result of such a spiritual-bodily contact, in which all the
traveler’s feelings are intensely involved, he achieves unity with the city
[44].
A necessary element of perception of the city
as a whole is its view from some high point, a vol d'oiseau - from a bird's
flight. At the same time, the idea of direct contact with the city encourages
the use of vehicles to a minimum. The most appropriate objectives of the
excursion, which is aimed not so much at a museum, but rather at the past
embodied in the urban landscape, are presented by Grevs and Antsiferov as a
pedestrian exploration of the landscape. An excursion experience as an
alternative to a tourist one involves the return of the perceptibility of space
and time in the intensive connection of bodily experience.
Another feature of the excursion experience,
which Grevs and Antsiferov emphasize when comparing it with the tourist
experience, is the specific collectivity of the former, which contributes to
the depth and strength of the experience. “An excursion,” wrote Grevs,
“provides a rare opportunity for conciliar perception” [45]. Grevs himself,
describing organized Italian travels, emphasized the importance of selecting
the participants of the excursion to create a common mood, which he considered
a necessary condition for its success. In this regard, the role of the leader
increased - both in terms of preliminary preparation of the group, and in terms
of determining the topic [46], and organizing subsequent reflection: during the
Italian travels, every day in the group's work ended with a discussion of the
experience.
The above features of the urban experience
organization, as part of the tour, are complemented by specific skills, related
to the perception of the past. The historian’s gaze does not slip, unlike the
gaze of a casual stroller over the surface of the visible; it involves a
deepening that allows one to see and reveal the disappearing past. Here is what
Grevs writes about Florence: “Historical Florence disappears under the pressure
of the tastes of modern business materialism, an addiction to amenities and the
demands of hygiene. The newest restructuring of the city has already destroyed
a lot of what was precious ... But we must hurry to look at least at the venerable
rags of the old magnificent mantle, which is threatened to be replaced by the
brand new tasteless dress ”[47]. At the same time, observations of modern life
can be a means of developing historical imagination, which, as Grevs writes,
sometimes gives rise to “worthwhile analogies”: “... the modern population
revives the fossils of centuries-old antiquity with many remnants of the past
in their current lives” [48] . However, ethnographic observations are not found
here at all [49]. Contemporaneity is judged rather negatively: “the present
crowd is much less picturesque than the old”, “contemporary Italian paintings
and sculptures are the most commonplace of all and you will not find a single
good picture in photographs, exhibitions, shop windows,” Italians “seem like an
outdated or temporarily dormant people "[50]. The core of reflection here
is the ability to get used to and feeling the meaning, atmosphere, spirit of
the era [51]. The completeness and depth characterizing the experience of the
excursionist presuppose a willingness to abandon the usual views, “accidentally
formed tastes and modes of thought” [52]. An important element of this
reflection is a critical assessment of guidebooks. Here are examples of such
ratings: "... Taine’s book Traveling in Italy and the Gull Fills guide
helped a lot. The first remained much loved even later, when I completely
parted with the author’s points of view. In the second, I was attracted
(besides the thoroughness of the description) by warmth, unusual in such books,
a bright-sounding love of Italy, a subjective element that goes towards the
reader ”[53]; “In recent trips I go with Muter (it’s very convenient for
traveling) ... I didn’t like and don't like its schematization of painting,
especially from the early periods, which I consider dangerous, but they have an
unusually good characterization of individual artists that makes them easier to
understand , a lot of subtle and true comments. In this regard, Reskin is not
so convenient, giving a lot, he combines a lot of it with even more absurdities
and fabrications, and from his book (without looking at the pictures) one can
hardly comprehend the Giotto frescoes in Santa Croche ”[54]. Another important
component of the description of excursions is the discourse of the “living
past”, which takes on stable forms in the texts of Antsiferov and Grevs in the
1920s. Here is a typical example: “We must be able to populate the homes by the
ancestors of their present inhabitants, again on the principle of finding the
past around us. So the present will be soldered with the past, the landscape of
the city (which often seems gray and mediocre) will become colorful, the
perspective will deepen ”[55]. This discourse includes anthropomorphic
metaphors, such as “inspiration of the house” (city), the idea of the city and
the house as “non-human beings,” etc. They are accompanied by a characteristic
series of visual metaphors that indicate the subjective or objective depth of
view / the visible : “Thinking gaze”, “vision of a holistic image” (borrowed
respectively from F. M. Dostoevsky and M. O. Gershenzon), “the past shines
through in the present”, etc. [56] This expresses the ability to symbolic
discretion of the "spirit of the place", embodied in specific images
and objects. These incarnations can be a monument, a particular landscape, or a
historical and literary character (for example, Paul I as the genius loci of
Gatchina).
Evidence of the high importance, attached to
the excursion experience, could be considered the religious metaphors,
appearing in Grevs' and Antsiferov’s travel characteristics, that bring it
closer to pilgrimage [57]. At the same time, the establishment of the concept
of historical excursions is accompanied, mainly in the works of Grevs, by the
formulation of the idea of travel as an important cultural phenomenon. This
experience was subsequently expressed in the concept of the "spirit of
traveling." “Traveling - immersion in nature and culture with a free and
active relationship with their objects and an unusually intense play of various
psychic forces and unique forms of their synthesis - is more fully cultivated
only by excursion, unfolds only by it” [58]. In the theory of excursions by
Grevs and Antsiferov, “travel” is interpreted not only as an expression of one
of cultural needs, but even as a creature of culture, a form of “cosmic
humanization and spiritualization of the world” [59]. Man, according to Grevs,
is by nature a wandering creature, driven by a thirst for knowledge and merging
with the world. Becoming sedentary, he "along with culture ceases to be
wandering, but remains traveling" [60]. Thus, the journey is a symbol of
the vitality of culture, cultural dynamism [61].
The city image and the theme of memory
The First World War and the revolution that
followed, destroyed the image of history, in the context of which the project
of historical excursions at the Grevs school was formed, as well as those
conditions that made their implementation possible. However, the excursion
business itself was in demand, which allowed Grevs and Antsiferov to find their
niche under the new and generally alien political regime. Throughout the 1920s,
they not only actively participate in the organization of excursion business
and local history, but also publish quite a few works on the theoretical
development and instrumentation of the excursion experience. Being an
experience of intellectual self-realization in unusual and largely hostile
conditions, these works inevitably acquired a compromising character. The experience
of excursions had to be adapted for a completely different audience and for
other tasks. The study of local lore became a new context for their
understanding, but at the same time, work was required to legitimize
humanitarian excursions not only in the eyes of fellow naturalists, but also in
the eyes of the authorities. Work was required to systematize experience, as
well as to redefine the prevailing discourses in a light favorable for
humanities — in a situation where the value of the past and culture was far
from obvious [62]. Among other topics in connection with which the
understanding of the relations of past and present unfolds, the theme of memory
arises in these works. However, we will be interested in covering this topic in
texts, unpublished during both authors lifetime and, therefore, expressing
their sincere thoughts. Here, the theme of memory expresses the acuteness of
the problem of historical and cultural gap, and the experience of excursions is
not instrumentalized, but rather the opposite — especially with Antsiferov — is
extremely radicalized.
N. P. Antsiferov's book, “The Soul of St
Petersburg”, is devoted to understanding this gap in connection with the city
issues. The specificity of this book is not only that the embodiment of classical
values is a native city [63], but also that the theme of the city takes on a
historiosophical dimension. The task of understanding the soul of the city is
affirmed here in the context of the urgent need to comprehend the tragic
position of the classical heritage (culture) in a situation where, having
cleared itself of political ties with the old regime, it has practically no
support from the new. St Petersburg, therefore, is perceived as the focal point
of the fate of the Russian Empire and those contradictions that predetermined
the destruction of this cultural-state unity. Antsiferov calls Petersburg the
city of “tragic imperialism” [64]. Thus, a plot of alarming inconsistency is
set, in an attempt to implement universal cultural and political tasks. "Soul
of St. Petersburg" is not the history of a city, it is the history of its
literary and artistic perception. The material for it were excerpts from the works of Russian
writers and poets. The historiosophical narrative uniting them is based on a
combination of ethical and aesthetic principles of different interpretations of
the problems of integrity: the struggle of the formative principle and the
natural elements opposing it; the contrasts between the inorganic nature of St
Petersburg's existence, connected with the separation from the people and the
soil, and the organic nature of its appearance; the contradictions between the
existence of the city as a special "non-human being" and the fact
that it was built on the bones of people; contradictions between the appeal to
the tradition embodied in the city, acquired in its integrity during the years
of war and revolution, and the adoption of a new stage, which begins in the
life of the city and country. The state of the urban landscape from the time of
War communism and the beginning of NEP (New economic policy) contributes to the
awareness of the integrity of the city. The exposed monumental unity of a
ruined city becomes a symbol of a classical tradition that is fading into the
past [65]. At the same time, Grevs wrote to his student E. Ya. Rudinskaya: “In
St. Petersburg, a wonderful, special
beauty now reigns. The city of Peter is now experiencing the situation of a
ruined capital: neglected landscaping, many destroyed houses, silence and
desert, streets overgrown with green grass ... and through this rises an
amazing originality of culture (strong tragic beauty) ”[66]. The perception of
the city takes on a distinctly apocalyptic character: “The 'Petropolis' is
turning into a necropolis” [67]. Despite the fact that the integrity of the
city is organic in nature, its very understanding is clearly nostalgic in
nature, associated with the experience of tragedy and, at the same time, the
“secret justice of destruction”, which did not come from outside, as something
meaningless, but represents an implementation of a “direction rooted in the
deepest layer of the existence of the destroyed ”[68].
The theme of memory in the works of Grevs and
Antsiferov was inspired by an equally
distinct experience of the cultural gap.
Their discussions on this topic, generally
dissimilar, are brought together by an emphasized religious orientation. This
was facilitated by their personal circumstances and the intellectual trends of
those years. However, it is important for us that the conversion to religion,
while maintaining adherence to science, reveals the insufficiency of those
optimistic worldview principles that justified the previous belief in the power
of science and the need to search for other grounds for it [69]. It is important
to note that the religious metaphor of excursion texts here in some cases
acquires literal meaning. In Grevs, the theme of memory arises in response to
one of the most important experiments of a fundamental reflection on culture -
“Correspondence from Two Angles” by V. I. Ivanov and M. O. Gershenzon. Grevs
does not accept the simplification and rejection of culture, proclaimed by
Gershenzon. Contemplating what is happening around the destruction of culture,
Grevs calls to carry, "through the catastrophe of gross overestimations of
blindness and ignorance, its most complex and subtlest achievements" [70].
In this perspective, the appeal to memory is associated with the idea of
retaining the past, without which it is impossible to preserve cultural complexity.
Grevs is in solidarity with Ivanov, for whom the memory, sanctified by the idea
of the resurrection of the fathers, acts as the beginning of vitality and
renewal of culture [71]. However, the position of Grevs is ambiguous: turning
to memory in the context of the religious justification of culture, he retains
the old perspective of the integrity of history, stemming from a belief in
culture and its progressive development that occurs despite temporary troubles
and eclipses, the idea of history as a biography of humanity, etc.
Some of these theses - in particular, the
characteristic topoi of the "biographical method" - we find in
Antsiferov, in unpublished fragments entitled "Historical science as one
of the forms of struggle for eternity" (1918-1942). However, his
understanding of the theme of memory seems much more radical and, at the same
time, more related to the experience of excursions. As the name of this text
shows, the knowledge of the past obtained by historical science is
conceptualized by Antsiferov as a form of struggle against death and the
destructive power of time, and therefore as an expression of the fundamental
human desire for immortality. “Historical science, the seed of which is
gravestone inscriptions, has as its goal to prolong and even resurrect the life
of the past for the future. Tombstones of all ages and all peoples testify to
this great, unquenchable thirst for communion of disappearing lives to a new
day, a day that is yet to be born ”[72]. Thus, linking historical knowledge
with the memory of ancestors, Antsiferov fluently describes the differences in
attitude to death that are characteristic of different eras and cultures.
However, the significance here is not so
much the specificity of each of them, but the general eschatological
perspective, where “eternity” is no longer just an erased metaphor of genuine
values, but that which is opposite to time and its destructive effect.
In this existential perspective, “history” as
knowledge includes individual and social memory, as well as the forms of their
material consolidation - burials, memorials, museums, biographies, historical
works. In this regard, Antsiferov emphasizes the importance of what we would
call 'commemorations' today. The importance of travels (including travels of
historians, listed by the author) follows from their connection with certain
memorable places, which thus acquire the character of pilgrimages. In this
case, not only the ability to radiate spiritual energies is attributed to the
memorial place, but also the magical ability to open the “chain of times”, due
to which “the current moment is applied to the past and the spark of experience
of the extinct past flashes” [73]. In connection with the problems of memorial
sites, Antsiferov even offers to reconsider the positivist concept of
historical fact (and at the same time the problem of the relationship between
history and literature) and rehabilitate the legend in which he sees the
expression of the “internal reality” of history. “To clarify this thought,” he
writes, “I will take an example: Peter in Rome. Historical science in the face
of the vast majority of its representatives denies the fact of his visit to
Rome. But those who were in the eternal city, who looked from the heights of
the Janiculum hill at San Pietro in Montorio, from where the apostle sent his
dying blessing to Urbi et orbi, who was in Mamerta prison, in the San Pietro in
Vincoli church or behind the Ostia Gate, at the small church of Delia
Separiciona (where the reliefs of farewell before the execution of Peter and
Paul are found), who finally felt the unlimited grandeur of San Pietro in
Vaticano, for them-all of Rome is full
with the presence of Apostle Peter. ” And further: “The historian is not a
poet, but the historian who is not a poet at all, who is not able to experience
the effective existence of a legend connected with a“ historical place ”, is a
bad historian. So, the legend is to be considered as a true sui generis event
in the life of the soul of mankind, regardless of whether it had a factual
basis in external life ”[74]. The foregoing means that the connection of the
event with the place allows us to consider it not as a literal fact, but as
symbolic, that is, as remaining in the memory of posterity.
Placing history in the horizon of memory,
Antsiferov formulates the religious and ethical substantiation of historical
knowledge. Since history is regarded as a special kind of ancestral cult, the
basis of “honesty and rigor of a scientist” becomes “a matter of love”, a “duty
of piety” in relation to the will of our ancestors, who longed to “protract
some form of earthly life, to participate in it” [75] . On the other hand, the
meaning of studying history can also be connected with the movement to the past
from today, caused by the need to overcome the temporality of the present, to
quench “the thirst for infinite life”. And here “one of the ways of
communication with the past is a pilgrimage to places connected with great
events or with great people (and not only with great ones)” [76]. The value of
memorial places - since these are living places of communication between
ancestors and descendants - is even comparable to the value of human life for
Antsiferov: “In the 1st German war, in response to the angry messages of R.
Rolland in connection with the bombing of the Reims Cathedral, Hauptmann found
outwardly beautiful words:" In my soul, a greater grief is caused by a
neighbor’s chest pierced by a bullet, rather than a destroyed cathedral. "
(Yes, this is so if the cathedral was only a wonderful work of art, only a
place of prayer.) It, consecrated for centuries, is the repository of the human
souls who created this temple, human souls who brought their joy and sorrow,
their prayers here ... Destruction of monuments of revered antiquity is the
same act of killing the national soul ”[77].
If we compare Antsiferov's concept with modern
theories of history and memory, then with all the obvious differences related
to its religiosity, archaic ideas about the integrity of history, the absence
of the problems of modernity and a critical view of the social functions of
knowledge about the past, etc., we at the same time we can see common features
- whether it is the representation of history in space, the problems of death
and a break with the past in culture, the ethical foundations of historical
knowledge as a source of efforts to keep a forgotten or priority of the
symbolic reality of history.
***
The above-considered reflection on the
relationship between historical research and tourist 'acting the part',
presented in the works of I.M. Grevs and N.P. Antsiferov, allows, it seems, to
highlight the complex nature of modern historical experience. Creating
historical knowledge, the scholar responds to the needs of a modernizing society,
which are not always directly dictated by politics or market demands [78]. He
is faced with the fact that the very development of this society influences the
objects of its study - creates conditions for the preservation of some and
neglects others, and this forces him to look for new ways to the past. Relying
on new practices of modern society, such as tourism, in his work, he is also
forced to develop his own way of using them. Thus, we see the nature of the
journey as a biographical experience significant for a person of the modern
era, as a way of embedding places that are significant from the point of view
of collective (or, as J. Assmann would say, cultural) memory in his individual
memory, acquired from the researcher . At the same time, his experience of
contact with the past is a peculiar temporal dimension, and the transition from
preliminary knowledge to immediate impressions, and then to the subsequent
reflection of the gained experience is accompanied by the expectation and
anticipation of a meeting with the object, and then - the experience of parting
and nostalgia. For this experience, the impression and the way to control time
is paramount, the desire to get as many impressions as possible and the
inability to fully penetrate the object. The nature of this experience
determines the status of certain sources, ideas about how to read them and the
reliability of the knowledge gained. Finally, it is also important, as in the
case of the formation of the concept of memory by Grevs and Antsiferov, in
which respect this experience prompts the revision of the very principles of
science of the past. And even if we are not so radical in our intentions, this
experience seems to let us feel the pulse of the present in the image of the
past.
[1]
See: Hartog F. Time and History. “How to write the history of France?” //
Annals at the turn of the century - an anthology. M., 2002.S. 147-168; Oexle O.
G. Cultural memory under the influence of historicism // Odyssey. Man of
history. 2001.M. 2001.P. 176-198.
[2]
See, for example: Confino A. Germany as a Culture of Remembrance: promises and
limits of writing history. Chapel Hill, N.C .: University of North Carolina
Press, 2006; Shaffer M. S. See America First: Tourism and National Identity.
1880-1940. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001; Semmens K. Seeing
Hitler's Germany: Tourism in the Third Reich, by. New York: Palgrave Macmillan,
2005.
[3]
For a more detailed description of the development of excursion business and
methods of conducting excursions, see my article: Stepanov B. E. Knowledge of
the past in the theory of excursions by I. M. Grevs and N. P. Antsiferov //
Phenomenon of the past. M., 2005. p. 419-475. There are also more detailed
links to sources.
[4]
See byet: Koshar R. German Travel Cultures. Oxford, 2000. P. 1-19; Kryuchkov A.
A. History of world and domestic tourism. M., 1994.p. 29-48.
[5]
For more on this, see: Milyukov PN, Essays on the History of Russian Culture.
In 3 vols. T. 2. Part 2. M., 1994. S. 279-340; Pistsov K. M. Excursions as a
component of cultural and educational policy in the first decade of the Soviet
state. Dis. ... cand. East. sciences. M., 2001.p. 20-26.
[6]
This attitude turned out to be very popular later, in the context of the
educational policy of the first years of Soviet power.
[7]
See: N. G. Kolokoltsova. On the history of the national excursion school. M.,
1992.p. 8-11.
[8]
See: Introductory article // Tour guide. 1914. No. 1; see also: Ryumin T. D.
History of local lore of Moscow in the late XIX - early XXX centuries. M.,
1998.S. 52-55. On the significance of excursions and travel as forms of
political mobilization in the 19th-20th centuries, see: Koshar R. German Travel
Cultures ... P. 1-19. In the same place, see references to the question
literature.
[9]
It is characteristic that, with the outbreak of World War I, the magazine
became involved in the struggle against “German barbarism” for culture and
civilization, the interpretation of which in this situation acquired a
distinctly pronounced connotation of state nationalism.
[10]
For more information on the Brotherhood, see: S. Eremeeva. The Priyutinsky
Brotherhood as a Phenomenon of the Intellectual Culture of Russia in the Last
Third of the XIX - First Half of the XX Centuries. Dis. ... cand. cultural sciences.
M., 2007.
[11]
Perchenok F. F., Roginsky A. B., Sorokina M. Yu. Foreword // Shakhovskaya D. I.
Letters on the Brotherhood. Links. Vol. 2, p. 177-178.
[12]
Finite A. M., Kumpan K. A. Petersburg in the writings and life of N. P.
Antsiferov // Antsiferov N. P. “Incomprehensible city ...”: Soul of Petersburg.
Petersburg Dostoevsky. Petersburg Pushkin. L., 1991.p. 9.
[13]
It is significant that Grevs was less involved in politics than other
representatives of the Priyutinsky fraternity. See about this: A. Sveshnikov.
How Lev Platonovich quarreled with Ivan Mikhailovich. The story of a
professorial conflict (manuscript).
[14]
Grevs I. M. My first meeting with Italy // Vakhromeeva B. B. A man with an open
heart: The autobiographical and epistolary heritage of I. M. Grevs (1860-1941).
SPb., 2004. P. 235. On the activity of Grevs in the context of the travels of
historians see: A. Sveshnikov. Italian Travels in the Texts of Russian
Historians of the Late 19th - Early 20th Century // Dialogue with Time. Vol. 13.M.,
2004.p. 172-189.
[15]
Skrzhinskaya E. Ch. Ivan Mikhailovich Grevs (biographical sketch) // Grevs I.
M. Tacitus. M .; L., 1946.S. 240; Vyalova S. O. On the creative biography of
Professor I. M. Grevs // From the history of manuscript and early printed collections.
L., 1979.P. 133.
[16]
Skrzhinskaya E. Ch. Ivan Mikhailovich Grevs (biographical sketch). p. 246.
[17]
Among them, one can mention, for example, trips to Greece and Turkey by members
of the student society of the historical and philological faculty of Moscow
Imperial University, headed by the university rector, Prince S. N. Trubetskoy,
and students from the Women's Pedagogical Institute, headed by the director of
Institute C F. Platonov in 1909. The closest in spirit to the excursion of
Grevs was, apparently, an excursion to Greece under the direction of F.F.
Zelinsky, about whom Antsiferov also writes in his memoirs. See: Dil E.V.
Excursion to Greece in the summer of 1910 under the leadership of F.F. Zelinsky
// Hermes. 1910. No. 18-20. p. 3-4.
[18]
See, for example: Grevs I. M. About culture // World of the historian: ideals,
traditions, creativity. Omsk, 1999.p. 282-284.
[19]
Grevs I. M. On the theory and practice of excursions as a tool for the
scientific study of history at universities. St. Petersburg, 1910.p. 10.
[20]
Ibid. P. 9. It is interesting that the “field study”, with which Grevs compares
the excursion, at that time is perceived purely as an occupation of
naturalists.
[21]
Ibid.
[22]
See, for example: Grevs I. M. Excursion business and the needs of Russian
culture // Science and its workers. 1923. No. 3-4. p. 10.
[23]
See: Antsiferov N. P. From Dooms of the Past. M., 1992.p. 168-169.
[24]
This approach was shared by N. P. Antsiferov. In his memoirs, he wrote: “I
evaluated a person based on the best that he is capable of. Similarly I
evaluated the culture of an era, social class, and nation. ” Cit. by: Konechny A.M., Kumpan K.A.
Petersburg in the writings and life of N.P. Antsiferov ... p. 7.
[25]
See, for example: Grevs I. M. Face and soul of the Middle Ages (regarding newly
published Russian works) // Annals. 1922. No. 2. P. 27. Understanding of
history as a biography of mankind is rooted in Grevs’s commitment to a
“world-historical point of view”, which was already criticized by his
contemporaries N. I. Kareev and D. M. Petrushevsky as “the remnants of Hegelian
metaphysics” and "The belated echoes of the old philosophy of
history." See about this: B. Kaganovich, St. Petersburg School of Medieval
Studies in the late XIX - early XX centuries .: Dis. ... cand. East. sciences.
L., 1986.P. 60.
[26]
Grevs I. M. City as a subject of local history // Local history. 1924. No. 3.
P. 249; see also: Grevs I. M. Long-distance humanitarian excursions and their
educational meaning // Excursion business. 1922. No. 4-6. p. 5.
[27]
The most significant was the second of these trips. In it, students and
colleagues of Grevs participated as
co-supervisors- art historians A.I. Anisimov and V.A. Golovan, historians N.P.
Ottokar and P. B. Shaskolsky, and among the audience were future Grevs
associates at the Petrograd excursion institute - N.P. Antsiferov, G.E. Petri,
E.A. Luther, A.I. Korsakova.
[28]
Antsiferov N. P. From the thoughts of the past. p. 280.
[29]
To characterize how the excursion experience was broadcast within the school,
an important source are the letters of L. P. Karsavin to I.M. Grevs, written
during his Italian business trip. See: Karsavin L.P. Russian historical
thought. From the epistolary heritage of L.P. Karsavin: Letters to I.M. Grevs
(1906-1916). M., 1994.
[30]
For more on this, as well as on the conflicts caused by such a strategy on the
formation of the scientific community, see: A. Sveshnikov. How Lev Platonovich
quarreled with Ivan Mikhailovich ...
[31]
Grevs I. M. Scientific walks in the historical centers of Italy. Vol. 1. Essays
on Florentine culture. Moscow, 1903. P. 6. Attempts to identify this tradition
both at the level of individual texts and at the level of the corresponding
passages in the texts of historians (J. Michelet, I. Taine, E. Renan, J.
Reskin, G. Boissier, F. Gregorovius et al.) We find in the later works of I. M.
Grevs and N. P. Antsiferov. See, for example: Grevs I. M. City as a subject of
local history. p. 251; Antsiferov N.P. Historical science as one of the forms
of struggle for eternity. (Fragments) (1918-1942) / Preparation for publication
and introduction by A. Sveshnikov, B. Stepanov // Studies in the history of
Russian thought: Yearbook. M., 2004.p. 156.
[32]
The significance of these works is evidenced by the review of P. P. Muratov,
the author of the classic work “Images
of Italy”. In the introduction to this book, Muratov called Ivan Mikhailovich
"... one of those who revived" the feeling of Italy "in Russian
culture of the late XIX - early XX centuries." Cit. by: Kaganovich B. S.
I. M. Grevs - historian of medieval urban culture // Urban Culture of the
Middle Ages and the Beginning of the Modern Age. L., 1986. P. 219. According to
B. S. Kaganovich, Muratov in many respects realized the idea of
the Grevs’ unwritten book about Italy. Compare: I. Grevs.
Scientific excursions to the great cultural and historical places of Europe
(excerpts from the conceived book), approximate plan // Vakhromeeva B. B. A man
with an open heart: The autobiographical and epistolary heritage of Ivan
Mikhailovich Grevs (1860-1941) . St. Petersburg, 2004.p. 278.
[33]
See: Ottokar N.P. Cultural centers of old Italy // Excursion Bulletin. 1915.
No. 4; Dobiash-Rozhdestvenskaya O.A. Disturbed Shrines // Bulletin of
Knowledge. 1915. No. 1. p. 57-81.
[34]
Of course, in formulating this thesis, I am talking only about one of the many
aspects that are touched upon by modern studies of educational and cultural
tourism. See, for example: Ritchie Brent W. Managing educational tourism.Clevedon;
Buffalo, 2003.
[35]
Grevs I. M. Scientific walks in the historical centers of Italy. p.2.
[36]
For traditions of tourism criticism, see: Koshar R. German Travel Cultures ...
P. 1-5.
[37]
N. Antsiferov. On the methods and types of historical and cultural excursions.
Pg., 1923.p. 6.
[38]
See: Grevs I. M. Scientific walks in the historical centers of Italy. S. 14;
Antsiferov N.P. On methods and types of historical and cultural excursions. p.
9.
[39]
See N. Antsiferov. On the methods and types of historical and cultural
excursions. p. 8-9; Antsiferov N.P. Theory and practice of excursions in social
studies. L., 1926.p. 25.
[40]
Ibid. p. 14.
[41]
Ibid. p. 7.
[42]
Grevs I. M. Long-distance humanitarian excursions ... p. 6; Wed: I. Grevs.
Scientific walks in the historical centers of Italy. M., 1903. P. 14; Grevs I.
M. Preface // N. Antsiferov, “The Incomprehensible City ...”. p. 25.
[43]
Grevs I. M. Scientific walks in the historical centers of Italy. P. 14. As we
can see, the negative image of the tourist is amplified here by pointing to
another iconic figure of modernity - the athlete.
[44]
As Grevs writes in an essay on Florence, the traveler’s heart “wants to say“
Firenza mia! ”” (I. Grevs. Scientific walks in the historical center of Italy.
P. 62). See: Antsiferov N. P. From the thoughts of the past.
[45]
Grevs I. M. Nature of excursion and the main types of excursions into culture
// Excursions to the present. L., 1925.p. 20; DobkinA. I. Comments // N.
Antsiferov. From Thoughts on the Past. p. 443; Antsiferov noted that individual
excursions are more an exception than a rule.
[46]
Compare: “Without a theme, the excursionist turns into a guide” (N. Antsiferov,
On Methods and Types of Historical and Cultural Excursions ... P. 12). As for
the role of the leader in conducting the excursion, in his theoretical works
Antsiferov outlines various possibilities: from a lecturer, to whom the group
only listens passively, to a leader, who only choses the objects (Ibid., P.
10).
[47]
Grevs I. M. On the theory and practice of excursions as a tool for the
scientific study of history at universities. P. 32. In this regard, Grevs notes
the importance of visiting the small towns of Prato and Pistoia, “which have
well preserved, due to their later decline, much of their street landscape and
monuments, that in Florence were worn out due to the destructive influence
of later epochs” (Ibid. p. 44). In a
later work, Antsiferov emphasizes the importance of the new perception of the
city associated with the excursion movement, thanks to which "the creative
impotence of modern architecture is partially compensated" (N. Antsiferov,
Theory and Practice of Excursions in social studies, p. 14).
[48]
Grevs I. M. To the theory and practice of excursions as a tool
for the scientific study of history in universities. p. 33; Wed: Karsavin L.P.
Russian historical thought ... p. 26.
[49]
Nevertheless, sometimes they do occur. So, according to a story recounted by
Grevs, in the Venetian hotel, which he chose as a haven, most of the rooms
turned out to be double, which was very puzzling for the excursionists, since
“in Russia even conjugal lodges are usually separate” (I. Grevs Excursion to
Italy 1912 / / Vakhromeev O. B. A man with an open heart ... p. 286).
[50]
Grevs I. M. Scientific walks in the historical centers of Italy. p. 24;
Karsavin L.P. Russian historical thought ... p. 38–39. N.P. Antsiferov recalls
that his interest in the more modern periods of Italy, connected, in
particular, with the figure of Garibaldi, did not arouse understanding among
his colleagues in the excursion. (From thoughts of the past. p. 284).
[51]
At the same time, the tasks of the excursion as a whole (cultural, historical
and aesthetic) would have to be correlated with the specifics of different
places (it is obvious that the experience of a topographic tour of the city
would be different from the experience of visiting the grave of Dante), as well
as with the vision of these places,
proposed by those who acted as guides, whose approaches were different.
So during the excursions, discrepancies were revealed in the ideas about the
depth of understanding between Grevs and his associates. N.P. Ottokar
critically assessed Grevs’s attitude toward experiencing the “spirit of the
place” (in particular, this concerned the idea of “walking around
the country”), calling it “sleepwalking,” and Grevs, in turn, did not accept
“formalism” in V.A. Golovan’s approach, believing that an analysis of the form
is insufficient, “if it does not affect the spirit, if it does not call for
noble emotions or inspiration, but only“ gratifies the eye ”or caresses the
feeling” (see about this: Grevs I. M. Excursion to Italy 1912. S. 287-289; N.
Antsiferov From the Thoughts of the Past. p. 290-291, 303-304).
[52]
Grevs I. M. Scientific walks in the historical centers of Italy. p. 24;
Antsiferov N.P. Theory and practice of excursions in social studies. P. 10.
Indicative in this sense are constant fears about the stereotypes of our own
ideas, which we find in Karsavin’ letters to Grevs from Italy. On necessity as
a property of excursion experience, see also: Stepanov B. E. Knowledge of the
past in the theory of excursions by I. M. Grevs and N. P. Antsiferov. p.
453-454.
[53]
Grevs I. M. My first meeting with Italy. P. 235. The publisher is mistaken in
writing the name of the second author. We are talking about Theodor Gsell-Fels,
the author of several editions of the book “Rom und Mittelitalien”.
[54]
Karsavin L.P. Russian historical thought ... p. 32.
[55]
Grevs I. M. City as a subject of school local history // Questions of local
history at school. L., 1924.S. 81; see also: N. Antsiferov. On methods and
types of historical and cultural excursions. S. 33; Antsiferov N.P. "The
Incomprehensible City ...". p. 44.
[56]
See, for example: N. Antsiferov. Ways of studying the city as a social
organism. L., 1926.p. 9, 23; Antsiferov N.P. "The Incomprehensible City
...". p. 217, 223.
[57]
Cf. characteristic expressions from works on excursions: “scientific
pilgrimages”, “Florentine delights”, “sanctuaries of history”, etc. by
Antsiferov in The Soul of Petersburg: “... All this unity of sounds, colors,
forms of the play of light and shadow, finally the feeling of space makes up
the cella of the temple, where genius loci himself lives” (N. Antsiferov, “The
Incomprehensible City ... ". p. 30-31).
[58]
Grevs I. M. Long-distance humanitarian excursions and their educational
meaning. p. 15. Cf. R. Koshar’s characteristic of tourist experience, the
essence of which, according to the researcher, is connected with the idea of
breaking away from an ordinary routine for the sake of unusual
impressions, immersion in “nature” or “culture”, which are perceived as
alternative worlds to everyday life, pleasure from the openness of the world ,
free movement and crossing borders (Koshar R. German Travel Cultures. P. 207).
[59]
Grevs I. M. Long-distance humanitarian excursions and their educational
meaning. p. 1.
[60]
See Grevs I. M. The nature of sightseeing and the main types of cultural
excursions. p. 13-19. We find very close reasoning in the texts of Antsiferov.
See, for example: NP Antsiferov. Theory and practice of social science
excursions. p. 25; Dobkin A.I. Comments // Antsiferov N.P. From thoughts about
the past. p. 443.
[61]
This dynamism has a spatial dimension in their eyes: it would be embodied, in
particular, by religious fermentation, pilgrimages and crusades, student
travels (Grevs I.M. 14). An important feature of the dynamism embodied in the
journey is the crossing of the utilitarian with idealistic impulses.
[62]
For more on this, see: B. E. Stepanov. Knowledge of the past in the theory of
excursions by I. M. Grevs and N. P. Antsiferov. p. 419-475.
[63]
Not being a native Petersburger, Antsiferov nonetheless calls it that way (see:
N. Antsiferov, “The Incomprehensible City ...”, p. 33).
[64]
This formula references a line from a poem by A. Akhmatova, in which Petersburg
is called the "city of glory and misfortune." See: Konechny A.M.,
Kumpan K.A. Petersburg in the writings and life of N.P. Antsiferov. p. 16.
[65]
N. Antsiferov, “The Incomprehensible City ...”. p. 172-173; See about this:
Konechny A. M., Kumpan K. A. St Petersburg in the life and works of N. P.
Antsiferov. p. 10-11; Knabe G. S. The grotesque epilogue of classical drama:
Antiquity in Leningrad of the 1920s. M., 1996.p. 16-17.
[66]
Grevs I. M. Letter from E. Ya. Rudinskaya June 28 / July 11, 1922 //
Vakhromeeva O. B. A man with an open heart ... P. 304.
[67]
AntsiferovN. P. "The incomprehensible city ...". P. 173. L. Ya. Lurie
and A. V. Kobak consider the perception of St Petersburg as a necropolis a
characteristic feature of St. Petersburg regional studies, due to the fact that
it was there that the gap with the past turned out to be the most noticeable.
See: Kobak A.V., Lurie L. Ya. Notes on the meaning of St. Petersburg regional
studies // Antsiferov readings. L., 1989.p. 75.
[68]
Simmel G. Favorites: In 2 vol. V. 2. Contemplation of life. M., 1996.p. 229.
[69]
On the religiosity of I. M. Grevs and N. P. Antsiferov, see: Korzun V. P.,
Sveshnikov A. V. The Third Corner (I. M. Grevs in the space of correspondence
“From Two Angles” by V. I. Ivanova and M.O. Gershenzon) // History and
historian. 2001. Historiographical Bulletin. M., 2001. p. 175-187; Sveshnikov
A., Stepanov B. Preface // Antsiferov N.P. Historical science as one of the
forms of struggle for eternity. (Fragments) (1918-1942). p. 107-135.
[70]
Grevs I. M. About culture. p. 303.
[71]
Ibid. p. 296-301.
[72]
N. Antsiferov. Historical science as a form of struggle for eternity.
(Fragments) (1918-1942). p. 150.
[73]
Ibid. p. 154.
[74]
Ibid. p. 147-148.
[75]
See, for example: N. Antsiferov. Historical science as one of the forms of
struggle for eternity. (Fragments) (1918-1942). p. 161.
[76]
Ibid. p. 153.
[77]
Ibid. p. 159-160. This is Antsiferov’s concept of an epoch, which F. Hartog
considers to be a milestone in terms of the genesis of problems of the
connection between history and memory and the tradition of searching for a
different history. See: Arthog F. Time and History. p. 159-160.
[78]
Moreover, the radical version of Antsiferov’s philosophy of memory, growing out
of the understanding of excursion practice turns out to be, as J. Assmann would
say, a hotbed of resistance to the existing order, moreover, it contradicts not
only the objectivist concept of history that prevailed at that time, but also
the concept of the city as organism formulated by Antsiferov in the framework
of local history.
HE WAS
SEARCHING FOR THE 'FACE OF THE CITY'
("St.
Petersburg Gazette" Issue No. 090 of 05/21/2010)
May 6
marks the 150th birth anniversary of Ivan Mikhailovich Grevs, one of the
founders of Russian regional studies
…..
Grevs spent the first twelve years of his life without leaving home in his
father’s estate in the Voronezh province. In 1872, after the family council,
the mother has taken the children to teach in St. Petersburg. The capital made
a huge impression on the teenager, who came from the quiet atmosphere of a
landowner's house.
"From
the book to the monuments ..."
In the fall of 1879, Grevs became a student at
St. Petersburg University, to which he later gave nearly forty years of his
life, as an instructor. He graduated from the University in the "highest
category", having received a gold medal along with the title of candidate.
After the death of his teacher in 1899, one of
the greatest Russian historians, the founder of Russian Byzantine studies,
academician V. G. Vasilievsky, Grevs took his place at the University. At his
behest, he became for many years a convinced and indefatigable champion of
science, an outstanding historian and medievalist. Being for many years the
dean of the historical and philological faculty of the Higher Women's Courses,
Grevs was a zealous worker in the field of female education.
History is a biography of the human race. In
history, Grevs always strove for the concrete, looking for individual traits,
“the face of an era”, “the face of culture” or “the face of the city”. He
sought to recreate individual human images that expressed the sides of the
historical process. This method of disclosing the epoch through individuals was
subsequently aptly called by him the "biographical method."
Ivan Mikhailovich was a master of historical
excursions. He attached great importance to visiting places, where the studied
events have taken place. The motto, clearly formulated by the scientist - “From
the book to the monuments, from the study to the real stage of history, and
from the free historical air again to the library and the archive” - found
response from the youth.
In the article by Grevs, “The Nature of Excursion ”, published in 1923 in the
journal“ Pedagogical Thought ”(No. 3), the principle is clearly evident:“
Travel is the soul of excursion ”. The excursion is a unique foundation from
which a person draws freshness of thought, a huge supply of knowledge, tastes
and spiritual energy.
Grevs' work at the University ceased in 1928:
his tremendous knowledge of history, his rich pedagogical experience, and
medieval studies themselves were unnecessary for the new Soviet higher school.
The scientist invested all of his unclaimed creative forces in the development
of local history. At that time, it was welcomed by the authorities - it is not
without reason that the 1920s are called the “golden decade of Russian regional
studies”.
Culture
synthesis
Throughout his scholarly activity, Grevs had
an interest in the city as a focus of culture. Research in this direction
resulted in his works, in which the city acted as the subject of local history.
“The city is not a mechanical conglomerate, an accumulation of objects and
people, even if it is put in order and systematized,” said Grevs. “This is a
holistic and large organism with a specific unity inherent in its internal life
... The city is the center of simultaneous cultural attraction and emanation,
the most striking and visual measure of the level of culture, and historical
cities are the most wonderful guide for determining its code and destiny.”
Cultural progress is directly related to urban
growth. “In all the great eras of the history of humankind, cities are vivid
incarnations of cultures, the peculiarities of their“ souls ”or, better, the
growing souls of mankind ...”
Grevs singled out the main approaches to the
study of the city "following the traces of its great people or through the
bright eras of its antiquity." In St. Petersburg, as the capital of the
empire, he considered the reigns of prominent monarchs to be such stages.
A literary approach is also possible. “The
reflection of the city at different points in its life in the works of writers
and artists, the study of its nature as interpreted by great poets. In this
case, an important and very special aspect can be arrived at for understanding
the soul of the city, in particular, St. Petersburg. ”
The scholar believed that “the city is a
synthesis of culture”, and the essence of local historical studies is precisely
the desire for synthesis in the knowledge of the area. Therefore, the city is
an excellent soil for great multilateral work, theoretical and practical.
Speaking about the city as a subject of local
history, Grevs especially noted the study of the city in the framework of
school local history study. Speaking about the differences between scientific
and school local history, the scientist pointed out that in the first - the
region is the goal of the work, and therefore it is interesting individually,
in all the little things. In the second, the region becomes a means of
providing genuine material accessible to direct study. School local history
should only serve as a step towards acquaintance with reality: by studying the
small world, come to an understanding of the earth and the universe ...
As the founder of the excursion method, Grevs
saw an analogy between local history and “excursionary” study. He called them
siblings: “Local history is a more settled excursionary study; excursionary
study is a more mobile (wandering) study of local lore. ”
An attempt to synthesize “excursion studies”
and regional studies as special areas of scientific knowledge for practical use
was created in 1921 by the Petrograd Excursion Institute, which was the center
of excursion work in the city. Actually, the institute became the reorganized
excursion section of the museum department of Gubpolitprosvet (Provincial
political education department).Its leaders, including Ivan Mikhailovich, tried
to assist teachers in training “excursionists” among them. Grevs, being one of
the organizers of the institute, was the head of its humanitarian department.
In addition to theoretical developments in the
field of local history, Grevs was engaged in practical activities. He was a
member of the Central Bureau of Local History (CBL), elected at the 2nd
All-Union Conference on Local History on December 16, 1924. At the bureau
session in January 1926 in Moscow, Grevs was elected a correspondent-member and
was invited to cooperate continuously in the CBL journals - the magazines
"Local History" (1923 - 1929) and "CBL News" (1925 - 1929).
The abolition of the excursion institute at
the end of the 1920s, the closing of periodicals of the CBL, and repressions
against a wide range of historians, local historians, and guides nullified the
local history movement. As for Ivan Mikhailovich, he, already restored as a professor
at the University in 1934, devoted the last years of his life (died May 16,
1941) to teaching at the University’s History Department ...
Methodologist
of the City Palace of Youth Creativity,
Candidate
of Historical Sciences
DEDICATED
TO GREVS...
The St. Petersburg Union of Local History
Specialists has developed a program to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the
birth of I.M. Grevs.
In Anichkov Palace on October 27 - 28, 2010, a
scientific and methodological conference will be held, dedicated to the legacy
of the scientist who has not lost his relevance in our time. During the days of
the conference, the photo exhibition “To the St. Petersburg addresses of I. M.
Grevs” will be launched. It is also planned to publish a jubilee collection of
articles by the scientist, on the problems of St. Petersburg studies and
excursion studies.
In addition, the Union of Local Lore
Researchers plans to establish a memorial plaque on house number 24 along the
9th Lane of Vasilievsky Island, where I.M. Grevs has spent the last sixteen
years of his life. Finally, a Grevs diploma will be established in addition to
the existing Antsiferov diploma for an outstanding contribution to St.
Petersburg studies. They will be awarded to school and university teachers,
librarians, guides, museum workers for their work in disseminating knowledge
about the city among schoolchildren and youth.
"St. Petersburg Journal" has already
written that April of this year marks twenty years from the date of the first
school readings of local history. It is noteworthy that the article published
by Inna Ushakova, at that time a 11th grade student of school No. 90 of the
Vyborg District, first appeared in 1993 in the collection “The heirs of the
great city”, No. 1, which included the best works of the participants in the
readings.
Association for Philosophical Research
and practical implementation of projects
on the integration and synthesis of physical
practices,
spiritual teachings, science, culture and philosophy
Academy of Universal Synthesis
The activities of the Association are aimed at
conducting scientific, philosophical and methodological studies, dedicated to
the ideas of New Education. The priority area of research is andragogy, a
science related to adult education.
The goal of a single educational process at
the present stage can no longer be simply a quantitative flow of knowledge. The
goal is much greater - it is, above all, the education of a new Human.
Education should open a life path for a
person, help him become a strong and harmonious individual, who consciously
chooses and realizes his life mission.
The new programs developed by the Association
are based on the principle of universal education, as the development of a
human being in all civilizational directions through the study of philosophical
systems, basic arts, the foundations of scientific knowledge, the foundations
of psychology, spiritual, religious and ethical traditions of humankind from
antiquity to the present day, physical practices around the world.
The Association brings together scholars from
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problems of modern education and to the future of humanity as a whole.
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