I. M. PUSHKAREVA. Historiography of the Russian Bourgeois-Democratic Revolution of February 1917

I. M. Pushkareva's article contains an analysis of a number of works by Soviet historians published in the 1920's-1960's and devoted to the history of the bourgeois-democratic revolution of February 1917 - the first victorious people's revolution carried out in Russia in the era of imperialism. The chief attention in the article is given to the progress of research into such aspects of the revolution as its character, motive forces, the stand taken by the various classes and parties in the period of the armed uprising in Petrograd and the consummation of the revolution. The author describes the efforts of Soviet historians to bring out the forces that performed the February revolution and to show whose interests it actually furthered. They convincingly proved that the leading part in this revolution was played by the popular masses, that the vanguard role in it belonged to the proletariat led by the Bolshevik Party. The works of Soviet historians give an all-round Marxist-Leninist appraisal of the bourgeois-democratic revolution in Russia, disclosing its distinctive features, characterizing the participation and struggle of diverse parties and classes in the February revolution itself, and highlighting the historical role played by the Bolshevik Party. I. M. Pushkareva stresses that Soviet historians were able to draw a sharp dividing line between the revolutionary spirit of the popular masses and the opportunism of the liberal bourgeoisie, which merely took advantage of the people's victory in order to seize power.

Y. S. GROSUL and N. A. MOKHOV. The Development of Historical Science in the Moldavian S.S.R.

The article briefly surveys the development of historical science in the Moldavian S.S.R. The authors single out the following three periods in the development of science: prior to 1948, when historical science in Moldavia was making its first steps; from 1948 to 1956, when there appeared a number of important scientific works and the main centres of historical research were established; and, lastly, the third period beginning from 1956 and marked by the rapid increase in the number of research works distinguished by a much higher scientific level. The authors point out that the historians of Moldavia are predominantly engaged in research devoted to the history of their Republic and give far less attention to other problems. The article examines a series of major scientific works produced by national historians and embracing all periods of Moldavian history. The authors list the most important scientific discussions held in the Republic.

N. N. VORONIN. Ancient Rus: History and Art

The article is devoted to the scientific assessment of ancient Russian architecture and painting. The author shows the specific conditions attending the development of art under feudalism, the correlation between religious ideology and the people's creative art, the relative unity of art and the absence of sharp contradictions between two cultures in ancient Rus. Diverse monuments of ancient Russian architecture vividly reflect the various aspects of national life, notably the history of technology and building techniques. Architecture as a whole accurately reflects the different stages of the Russian people's historical development; the monuments themselves are permeated with the spirit of historism, while the most outstanding specimens of architecture are directly associated with major historical events. N. N. Voronin devotes particular attention to examining the distinctive features of Russian architectural esthetics and the secularization process in

17th-century architecture. The author stresses that painting and architecture are both connected with historical and living realities. The art of portrait-painting has been agitating the minds of artists from time immemorial. Urgent and pressing socio- political themes often penetrate into painting. Many specimens of illustrated manuscripts and icon-painting extend the possibility of analyzing diverse monuments of ancient literature and historical annuls.

E. V. KOVALYOV. Anti-Feudal and Anti-Imperialist Roots of the Guerilla Movement in Colombia

The article analyzes the character and specific features of the guerilla movement to Colombia along the following main directions: first, the emergence, development and stages of the guerilla warfare and the immediate causes that engendered it, the influence exerted by the guerilla movement en the development of the political struggle in Colombia; second, the real class content of the guerilla struggle and the objective, historically evolved conditions that gave rise to that struggle. The rapid development of capitalism in Colombia's agriculture in the postwar period, accompanied by the retention of the system of big private landownership and the growing domination of American imperialism, sharply aggravated social contradictions in the countryside and led to the intensification of the class struggle, which in a number of areas developed into an armed partisan struggle. Both in the composition of its participants and immediate aims, the partisan struggle is essentially a peasant struggle directed against feudalism. The close unity of the economic and political interests and positions of latifundism and American imperialism determines the anti-imperialist character of the partisan struggle. The dialectics of political developments in the country and the gradual weakening of the bourgeoisie's influence among the peasantry found expression in the fact that the Communist Party of Colombia assumed leadership of the nation-wide guerilla movement. The partisan movement, now developing and spreading under the slogan of the struggle for land and for the overthrow of the bourgeois-landlord oligarchy, represents one of the main directions of the anti-feudal and anti-imperialist revolution in Colombia.

M. E. ORLOVA. Historical Destinies of Independent Ireland

The article traces the historical road traversed by Ireland since her attainment of self- government in 1921. By 1937 Ireland's anti-imperialist forces eliminated the military- political machine of foreign oppression and began their struggle against the British colonialists' economic domination and their efforts to keep the country in the sphere of their economic influence. However, this struggle did not result in seriously weakening Ireland's economic dependence on British imperialism. The Fianna Fail - the national bourgeoisie's leading party which has held the reins of government for the past 35 years almost without a break-proved unable to weaken the country's dependence on the British market, at the same time refusing to establish highly advantageous and promising economic contacts with, the socialist countries, Having adopted a policy of building up an independent national economy without in any way encroaching on the basic principles of capitalist ownership, the national-bourgeois government of Ireland gave free access to foreign capital. The country's economic rapprochement with imperialism was accompanied by definite political rapprochement involving partial renunciation of independence in the sphere of foreign policy beginning with 1930's. Ireland's progressive forces and working people are consistently fighting for the consummation of the anti-imperialist revolution, for re- establishing the country's unity and for achieving genuine prosperity. The programme adopted by the Irish Labour Party in 1962 opened up wide prospects for waging a consistent anti-imperialist struggle. The cause of Irish freedom will finally triumph when all the progressive national forces rally closely around that programme.

A. N. CHISTOZVONOV. The 400th Anniversary of the Netherlands Bourgeois Revolution

(Literature and Tasks of Marxist Research in the Problem)

The article briefly surveys the dominant trends in 19th and 20th-century Dutch historiography: the liberal-Calvinist, Conservative, Catholic, positivist, etc., and examines the leading trends attending its development in the postwar period. The author draws attention to the fact that certain progressive elements present in a number of research works dating back to the war period and the early postwar years remained chance episodes in the national historiography of the Netherlands revolution, whereas the predominant, determining role began to be played by trends called upon to propagate the ideas of anti-

communism, abstract pseudo-humanism, etc., to provide the historical basis for the postwar political development of European capitalist states - the realization of various European integration projects, the establishment of the Benelux trio.

The concluding part of the article is devoted to a number of questions connected with Marxist research in the problem: a close analysis of the socio-economic prerequisites and chief results of the revolution, its character, motive forces and the role played by the class struggle of the popular masses, Calvinism and its place in the revolution, the significance of the political, legal, international and other factors. The author emphasizes that a genuinely scientific solution of all these questions can be found only by examining them not through the prism of diverse tendentious conceptions based on national narrow-mindedness, but as an organic component of the general European process of the genesis of capitalism and of the early bourgeois revolutions.

Y. F. IVANOV. Pre-Hussite Czechia: Certain Historical Aspects

Drawing on his analysis of scientific literature, the author notes the existence of widely differing points of view concerning the appraisal of the century directly preceding the rise and development of the Hussite movement in Czechia. Czechoslovak historians J. Macek, F. Graus and R. Kalivoda proceed from the premise that feudalism in a number of countries during that period was in a state of protracted crisis caused by the growth of money-commodity relations, and, consequently, was passing through the "descending" stage of development. In contradistinction to these views, Soviet historian B. T. Rubtsov maintains that the processes taking place in Czechia in the 14th and early 15th centuries did not lead to the destruction of feudal production but chiefly resulted in its transition to a higher stage; this fully justifies the conclusion that the feudal formation in Czechia reached the "ascendant" stage of development.

The author of the article fully shares this point of view and traces, in a definite aspect; the Czech feudal elements' reaction to the progressive development of money- commodity relations. Many objective facts convincingly show that the feudal landowners successfully adapted themselves to the new conditions and tried to devise the most effective ways and means of steeply increasing the profitability of their patrimonial estates in the shortest possible time. The abundant factual data cited in the article fully warrants the conclusion that what actually took place in pre-Hussite Czechia was not the "first crisis of feudalism" but the crisis of the patrimonial system of agricultural production founded on natural economy.

N. A. TAVAKALYAN. Concerning the Concept of Nation

N. A. Tavakalyan's article continues the discussion on the theory of nation. Contrary to the opinions of certain participants in the discussion, the author maintains that the concept of national character is much broader than the spiritual content and psychic make-up of a nation, that the different aspects and traits of national character are manifested in practically every sphere of a nation's social and, particularly, spiritual life and psychology, notably in the various forms of culture, art, literature, music, folklore, traditions, customs, morals and way of life of the people comprising one or another nation.

N. A. Tavakalyan emphasizes that national character, is not an intrinsic, immutable quality of a nation, but a socio-historical and changeable concept. While drawing attention to specifically national features, the author at the same time shows the common traits in the character of different nations, stressing that national and international are closely interconnected and interdependent concepts, and distinguishing the opposite class elements to the national character of every nation in general and of bourgeois nations in particular.

Along with some other participants in the discussion, the author singles out "ethnic self-consciousness" as an important indication of a nation. However, "ethnic self- consciousness," in his opinion, becomes an indication of a nation only in combination and interaction with other indications.

N. A. Tavakalyan does not agree with the opinion of those participants in the discussion who propose to replace the term of "bourgeois nation" by "socially heterogeneous nation," and the term of "socialist nation" by "socially homogeneous nation," substantiating the need to retain the generally accepted consepts ("bourgeois nation" and "socialist nation") as two diametrically opposite types of nations.

Publisher:

Permanent link for scientific papers (for citations):

Found source (search robot):

Comments: