“There is one thing I don’t understand - writing a true history textbook is such a big problem for Russia? Or is it not needed by anyone? They lie about everything, starting with the birth of the Slavic peoples."
(Ozhogin Dmitry)
"The dominance of liberals in power from the very top, in academic science, on TV, in cinema, leaves no chance for a textbook to be objective."
(There was a mammoth)
“The Bolsheviks introduced an 8-hour working day, paid leave and maternity leave for mothers. For you, as a fan of monarchism, I propose to get a job with me for 10-12 hours a day, no vacations, with 1 day off."
(cast iron)
So, one of the TOPWAR site visitors asks the question: is it really so difficult to write a truthful textbook on the history of Russia? So that this question never arises here again, let's try … well, not to write it together, but at least to imagine all the difficulties of such work. And then we have a lot of people who do not understand very much in historical science, but believe that everything is easy there. "After all, history is not mathematics, you can learn everything there!" And that's not all!
I must say that this topic is very close to me personally for a number of reasons. First: I was born and raised in a large private house with a bunch of sheds, and my grandfather, who was awarded the Orders of Lenin and the Badge of Honor, was the head of the city council, and during the war years, when thousands of refugees with children who needed to be taught came to the city. Mom was a history teacher at school until she started teaching the history of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union at the institute, and at home I just had a "bunch" of history textbooks from different years, starting from the 30s of the last century. At first I was attracted to them by pictures, then, somewhere from the 4th grade, I began to read them and … COMPARE! What they write in one, what in the other! Needless to say, this strange "hobby" led to the fact that I did not receive any marks in history at school, except for "5", and was delegated to all historical Olympiads and competitions. But even then, and I studied from 1962 to 1972, it struck me that many interpretations in textbooks differ! That facts appear and disappear … Portraits of figures too … And this phenomenon was traced in the most graphic way. But history itself does not change, I remember, I thought. So these changes were made … because someone wanted to ?! Or they were needed! But why?
I am very sorry that then I became sharply stupid, handed over all these books to waste paper, although I continued to study well. In the diploma for the state exam, there is only one four - for scientific communism. Well … it's about finding a black cat in a dark room, in short. I was asked why I believe that the world communist movement is the determining factor in the world today. And I answered: because there are communists everywhere! "Are they in New Guinea?" "But where are they not now!" - I answered in a very bad tone, and almost did not work at all. But they put "4" and a red diploma was covered with a copper basin. Then, working on books in the publishing house "Prosveshchenie", I found a lot in their library and … refreshed in my memory. If any of the readers of VO lives in Moscow and has a desire, he can ask them there and … read the most interesting textbooks on the history of Russia and the USSR for different years. Maybe then he will try to write one himself, why not?
But back to our specific topic: a textbook on the history of Russia from ancient times to the present day. Can it be written so that it … meets all the requirements, or rather, the requirements of ALL RUSSIANS? The answer is negative! No! No!! And no !!! Why? And here's why …
Recently here on VO there was an article by one of the authors of the 12-volume history of the Second World War. I liked her very much. He laid out everything very carefully, and … I immediately got on the Internet and opened the first volume I came across. Of course, "about tanks" is what I know best. I opened it, read the first paragraph and closed it, and realized that I would never use this edition again! Why? There was a phrase: "In 1944, the T-34/85 tank entered service, and this … immediately … improved", and so on. I am sure that everyone who understands at least a little in this will extend it further himself. But … it's not true! Why is it not true? But because the T-34/85 was put into service in a specific month of this year, and in that particular month it ended up at the front in a specific number on a specific sector of the front, and not all at once and on a massive scale. As, however, and the German "Tiger" in the 43rd. That is, the level of generalization for me personally is prohibitively high! I would prefer the history of the Second World War by day. All 1418 days and descriptions of each day: how they fought, what they lost, what they destroyed, how many surrendered, how many were taken prisoner, what orders were issued, how many cows were transferred to stew, how much, where, when, who? This would really be a work worthy of the memory of our people, who won the greatest war in the history of mankind. Is it there? Open the Network - this is not! Moreover, it is clear that there is no information somewhere. Well, that's how it should have been written, "but there is no data here." Honestly! In my opinion, this is the only possible approach to the disclosure of this topic.
Of course, this is better than the "multivolume history" of the Great Patriotic War in six volumes of the Soviet era, the preparation of which began in 1957. However, the quality of this work can be evidenced by at least the following fact: in its third volume, Khrushchev is mentioned 39 times, Stalin - 19, Zhukov - 4, and Hitler - 76! In 1966, the first volume of "History of the Second World War" was released in 12 volumes (the last one appeared in 1982), but the same story was repeated there: Brezhnev was mentioned 24 times, Stalin - 17, Zhukov - 7, Vasilevsky - 4, Khrushchev - 7 and this is for the WHOLE EDITION! Meanwhile, in the United States, the history of World War II was published in 99 volumes, and in Japan even in 110! But it was "true Soviet times." "The generals determine what Soviet people should know about the Great Patriotic War and what they shouldn't," wrote Nezavisimaya Gazeta on August 18, 1991. 25 years have passed, it seems that much has changed, but we still cannot jump above 12 volumes Can.
And if this is the case with only one topic of our history, then … what do you want, good citizens, from a UNIVERSAL TEXTBOOK that would satisfy everyone and reconcile everyone? But it’s not even a matter of satisfaction (“you’ll never give all the sisters earrings anyway!”). And, first of all, in the fact that in historical science we still do not have an exact understanding on what theoretical basis this textbook should be built. What I mean? And here's what: the economic foundation of society and how we will characterize it! Many people remember that there was a primitive communal system, slaveholding, feudal, capitalism and socialism. Beautiful! Just! Clear! But is it really so? There is another conception of the history of the development of society and it is based on the attitude to work, which, for example, seems more correct to me. At the same time, we will have a society of "natural compulsion to work" (primitive communal system), "non-economic compulsion to work" (slavery and feudalism are combined, since they never existed in their pure form!), And "economic compulsion to work" (market relations) … And there have never been others, and there have never been - if you think about it, of course! It is also beautiful in its own way and, most importantly, a logical scheme. But how much the scientific community is ready to accept it is what matters. Not to mention the "masses", where awareness is at the wildest level of incompetence. And there is also the theory of Malthus. By the way, nobody canceled it. And hasn't proven that it doesn't work! On the contrary, everything proves that it works and very well. It is interesting that on its basis in Russia, the publishing house "Vlados" published two textbooks on the history of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages by the Siberian historian S. A. Nefedov and read that the other is like a novel. But further with regard to Russia … the matter did not go further. And it's clear why, isn't it?
And if we have such "problems" from the very beginning, then what will happen next?
And then we need to decide (let's say, we somehow figured out the three above-mentioned problems!) What truthful sources of information we will use, taking into account, however, that the textbook on the history of Russia begins to be studied in the 6th grade at the age of 13. It is clear that there are only three such sources: chronicles, archaeological finds and … data on haplogroups. Everything! There is no other way!
And now how to put it all together? It is unthinkable to copy all the chronicles in a row. There is a "Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles." Means, to give pomace? And immediately a problem arises that has already been raised here at VO. "Did the knights, clad in armor, drown in Lake Peipsi or not?" This is not the case in contemporary chronicles of this event! There is no about this in the article "Alexander Nevsky" in the newspaper "Pravda" No. 356 of December 24, 1941, when it became patriotic to write about our heroic commanders. The author cites excerpts from chronicles, ours and German, and they, these chronicles, have not changed, and they have not found new ones! But he does not write about drowning! Nor is there anything about this in Pravda dated April 5, 1942 for the anniversary, so to speak. And the number of those killed? Consider it according to the Livonian rhymed chronicle or according to our chronicles? In any case, this is bad, because in this way we undermine children's trust in sources - after all, the numbers are different!
I would trust the children: I would give both ours and the "German" ones, and explain why this was. Otherwise, later, after school, a student will read a book … by some newly minted Khrenenko, and there it says - "that's the truth." And the "bomb", while still small, will explode! That is, you need to explain? Does everyone agree with this? Yes? No? And the volume of the textbook? To do as the English do in the books of Osprey - first, according to the years of the event: their trip to us, ours to them … and … there will be a visual picture that we, too … did not give anyone a chance. They are to us, we are to them, and vice versa. It is clear that life was like that, but these are children … It is easy to conclude: "Our ancestors lived by robbery and robbery!" Maybe such a conclusion? Quite! It is enough to compare the list of military campaigns of the ancient Russian state! Are there hikes next to us? And who will be more? If they are, everything is clear. And if ours? Can this be explained to children? Yes you can! But not in 6th grade! And what about the expansion of the Russian Empire? "Mitraleses against sabers in Kokand", "The Korean gunboat on the Yalu River", "Sailors of the Baltic Fleet are burning the Chukhonsky manor" - these are all pictures of our artists and photographs that reflected our life. Should they be inserted into the textbook and explained? Or write … how everyone offended us, but we only gave back, and ourselves - no, no …
However, all these questions are removed automatically if we make a UNIFIED HISTORY TEXTBOOK, and at the same time we study the history of Russia in the global process. Here is the history of France, here is Germany, and here is Russia. Then - yes, it will be immediately clear that our ancestors were still very much even "nothing", and the princes, although they poisoned each other and gouged out their eyes, but still not as fierce as in the same France "damned kings". But to do so means to change the WHOLE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM! And then you will have to rewrite ALL TEXTBOOKS! AND RE-TEACH ALL TEACHERS!
Write about the grubs of the barge haulers, which I have already written about here on VO? About the salaries of officers and workers: a warrant officer of the imperial army at the end of the 19th century - 25 rubles, a class lady (without lessons) - 30 rubles, a first-hand turner in 1902 at the Putilov factory - 40 … “I lived in St. Petersburg, drank vodka and he chewed bread, wore a troika, started dancing with his boots on three feet … "- the workers sang and … V. I. Lenin in France - "nostalgia", however. But a three-piece suit could be bought for a worker from one salary, and also an accordion and … get drunk - see Gorky's novel Mother. By the way, a gymnasium cap in 1905 cost 1 p. 50 kopecks. Expensive! And two chickens, plus heels of eggs, plus two franzolki buns cost fifty dollars. And the "troika", and the boots are bottles, and the accordion? That is, the workers were not so much and received little, and if they drank less, then …
Now pay attention to epigraph number 3. This also applies to the textbook, right? After all, if we begin to write truthfully about the heavy share of Russian peasants and workers, it will become clear that the poverty of the former and the latter also had its reason … deep religiosity of both. There were many festivals of pagan times, which were later preserved in a hidden form, during which people did not work! For example, on June 24, Ivan Kupala was celebrated under the cover of the day of John the Baptist, and on July 27, they honored the holy martyr Panteleimon, and at the same time they celebrated the summer solstice and, naturally, it was impossible to work on these days. They honored the day of Kirik (so as not to become a cripple), Rusalia (in atonement for babies who died without baptism), the day of St. Phocas (from the fire), the day of Simeon the Stylite (so that the sky that he supports does not fall to the ground), the day of St. Nikita (from rabies), St. Procopius's day (against drought), St. Harlampy's day (against the plague), and so on. The abundance of holidays was beneficial to whom? To the priests, because on holidays they were "carried" - some heels of eggs, some a piece of bacon, some "red", so there could be no question of any reduction of them.
The purpose of the peasant economy was to obtain food, not profit, although our peasants themselves were not at all so lazy and undeveloped as others write, otherwise they simply could not live. A different attitude to work, "the acquisition of wealth" seemed to them incompatible with the divine commandments, while the holiday was considered a godly deed! And here are the numbers that anyone can check by picking up a regular and church calendar:
BALANCE OF WORKING AND NON-WORKING DAYS IN THE MIDDLE 19 - BEGINNING OF THE 20 CENTURY: 1850s. - 135 working days, non-working days (total number) - 230;
1872 - 125 working days, non-working days (total) - 240; 1902 - 107, and 258! Accordingly, the holidays were 95, 105 and 123!
Question: why the number of holidays has been increasing? After all, there were no more church holidays? And the namesake of the sovereign emperor, sovereign empress and members of their family, because the family grew! And all this was celebrated, that's why there were no vacations and that's why they worked 12 hours a day! Not all the same to celebrate, once you have to work ?! And if in 1913 our peasants had as many days off as American "farmers" (as they were called in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century), that is, 68 instead of 135, and the money that was spent on drinking on holidays went If into an economy, then it is our country that in a matter of years would turn into a leading world agricultural power!
And so, in theory, we should insert all this into a new history textbook. And what will be the conclusion? The Russian Orthodox Church is the main brake on the development of the Russian economy until 1917! I don’t think that its adherents will like it, but this is, after all, we are only at the beginning, in fact, of our textbook. And then it will be even more interesting and "scarier" … Although not all archives are open today. For example, many military personnel are again classified until 2045. So personally, I don't have to write anything on their basis!
(To be continued)
