POKROVSKY Mikhail

(1868-1932)
Born 17 (29) in August 1868 in Moscow, the son of assistant manager of the Moscow contributed Customs. Already in the 2-nd Moscow school was interested in the history lessons. In 1887 he entered the historical-philological faculty of Moscow State University, after which in 1891 received a diploma of the first degree and was on 'for preparing for a professorship' once in two departments - the Russian and World History. Engaged in seminaries PG Vinogradov and Kluchevsky.
At the time of stay in the university began a literary career Pokrovsky: Journal 'Russian idea' has published its reviews of new books on domestic and foreign stories

. Till 1895 Pokrovsky, . in his own words, . was 'quite an academic man': in charge of the seminary library at the University, . lectured at the Moscow Pedagogical Courses, . prepared to defend Master's (PhD) dissertation, . which was not defended,
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Protection prevented by the fact that Pokrovsky increasingly became interested in politics. Pokrovsky worked with the 'legal Marxists', headed by PN Miliukov Commission for organizing home reading, the organization 'Union of Liberation'. On the eve of Russian revolution, the scientist became friends with the Social Democrats AA Bogdanov, AVLunacharsky, I.I.Skvortsovym-Stepanov, grouped around the journal 'True'. The magazine published the work of Pokrovsky's testimony, as he later wrote about his refusal to 'democratic illusions and passions economic materialism'. Among them - article-review Idealism and the laws of history: Heinrich Rickert. The boundaries of science education concepts (1904) critical review of the first part of the course of Russian history of his university head Kluchevsky, . disapproval greeted by former teachers and classmates; article Zemsky Cathedral and Parliament (1905),
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First Russian revolution Pokrovsky greeted enthusiastically, in April 1905 joined RSDLP. Actively published in the Bolshevik press, speaking at rallies and meetings. He was elected a member of the Moscow Committee RSDLP, one of the leaders of the group of lecturers MK, became the de facto editor of the Bolshevik newspaper 'Struggle'. In the days of the December uprising in Moscow, along with his university friend NA Rozhkov Pokrovsky participated in armed struggle.

After the defeat of the uprising Pokrovsky hid from police in Finland, then emigrated to France. Initially scholars support the political line of Lenin. At the 5 th Congress of the RSDLP in 1907 was elected to the editorial 'proletarian' and Bolshevik Center. Then friends with AA Bogdanov and other team members 'Next', opposes the policy leader of the Bolsheviks. But even with them tore Pokrovsky, declaring himself 'extra-factional social democrat'. In 1913 he joined the group of LD Trotsky. After the First World War acted 'for the transformation of war between nations in the war against the bourgeoisie'.

Years of exile - the most fruitful in scientific work, the scientist. That's when he created two of the largest of its work - 5-volume Russian history from ancient times (1910-1913) and the outline of the history of Russian culture (h. I, 1914).

After the overthrow of the autocracy in August 1917 Pokrovsky returned to Russia, has restored its membership in the Bolshevik Party. In the days of the October armed uprising editor of Izvestia Moscow Soviet ', was Commissioner of the Moscow Military Revolutionary Committee on Foreign Affairs. November 14th plenum of the Moscow City Council elected him as Chairman. In December 1917 - January 1918 Pokrovsky participated in the Russian delegation to peace negotiations with Germany and her allies at Brest-Litovsk. He has 'levokommunisticheskie position' - advocated a 'revolutionary war' against the signing of Germanic peaceful environment. When peace was signed, Pokrovsky saw it as something "morally horrible to incredible limits'.

In May 1918, Pokrovsky was appointed a member of the Government, Deputy Commissar of Education of the RSFSR. This post is a scientist held until the end of life, . combining it with the work of leadership as chairman of the Presidium of the Socialist (from 1924 - Communist) Academy, . rector of the Institute of Red Professors, . Chairman of the Society of Marxist Historians, . Head Centrarkhiv,
. Since his name is associated with major restructuring exercise of higher education on communist principles, . removal of the old professors from teaching, . creation of privileged conditions for the admission of young workers, . establishment of the social sciences monopolistic hegemony of the communist ideology,
. With his active participation have been nationalized and centralized archive, library and museum collections, prepared and implemented the decrees on the introduction of a new spell, protection of monuments of art and antiquities, the eradication of illiteracy, etc..

Administrative and scientific-organizational work in the last period of life taken away from Pokrovsky much time and effort. Besides, he is seriously ill: in 1928 he was diagnosed with cancer. His work in recent years of life - Russian History in a concise essay (1920), class struggle and the Russian Historical Literature (1923), Essays on the Russian revolutionary movement (1924), Tsarist Russia and the War (1924), Russia's foreign policy in the twentieth century. (1926), collections of articles Imperialist War (1928), the October Revolution (1929) - is the most popular training courses, and critical reviews of literature. In these works Pokrovsky suggested as many interesting and profound, and controversial, contentious and wrong judgments about the past. Among them - an exaggerated appreciation of the role of commercial capital in the history of Russia.

In flared up in the early 1920's infighting Pokrovsky staked on Stalin, speaking at his side in the debate on historical themes with Trotsky. Pokrovsky always - even if it is in my soul sickened him - it comply scrupulously with social orders of the new leader. Must destroy the non-partisan scientists from the Academy of Sciences, to speak out against right-wing opportunists or debunk any bias in science - Pokrovsky get to work

. His many students were educated in the spirit of Pokrovsky militant Bolshevism, . unquestioning execution of party directives, . use of historical knowledge in the fight against political opponents, . direct subordination of historical research objectives to strengthen the ruling regime, . monopoly position in science in one direction, . negative attitude to the experience of predecessors and opponents,
. The famous saying Pokrovsky - 'History is politics, overturned in the past' - has become a guide for a whole generation of Marxist historians.

Pokrovsky died in Moscow on April 10, 1932.

A month after his death, Bolshevik historian SA Piontkovsky wrote in his diary: 'In Pokrovsky thing of the past interesting page from the history of the Russian intelligentsia. As a Bolshevik of professorial environment Pokrovsky brought to the party two things: a steady contempt and hatred of the professors, excellent knowledge of the scientific environment, the absence of any fetishism in front of her, and excellent knowledge of science. This was a man of great ability, witty and paradoxical. In private life I have known him since 1920: it was a tyrant and the slave owner. He did not respect people and terrible appreciated that the political situation, which had. For him, he kept his teeth and the blood we bit one another to increase and strengthen its position '

. After the death of Pokrovsky some of his views, . first denial of any developments in pre-revolutionary government and nihilism in the evaluation of national traditions, . shares many of his students, . came into conflict with the task of strengthening the Party regime,
. The new domestic and international situation Stalin was a useful experience of the old imperial state, wanted a Soviet state-patriotic view of history, explains and justifies his undivided political power. Therefore, at the initiative of the leader of the second half of 1930 in the Soviet Union had deployed unprecedented campaign of criticism of the late scholar and his works, as well as the campaign to write new history textbooks. These campaigns were accompanied by massive repression and destruction of academic historians