This teaching aid summarizes the experience of preparing for writing a historical essay - a complex creative essay that is included in the set of tasks for a number of olympiads, including the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in history. The specifics of the genre are explained, detailed evaluation criteria are given, practical advice organization of preparation for writing an essay. The appendices contain the texts of more than 40 works completed by schoolchildren at various stages of the Olympiad and published in this manual in the form in which they were written. Their careful analysis is presented and evaluation tables are given. The manual can be used as a simulator not only for writing, but also for evaluating essays. Many of the authors of the texts cited in this manual became winners and prize-winners of various stages of the Olympiad. The book is addressed to secondary school students, teachers, methodologists, teachers of the system of additional education, organizers of Olympiads at various levels.

WHAT IS AN ESSAY.
Since this manual has an extremely specific goal - to teach or learn how to write an essay, we would like to avoid too long theoretical discussions on this topic. In this chapter, we will focus on only a few features of the historical essay. So what is the genre originality of a historical essay? The Big Encyclopedic Dictionary gives the following definition: “An essay is a genre of philosophical, literary criticism, historical-biographical, journalistic prose, combining an emphatically individual position of the author with a relaxed, often paradoxical presentation focused on colloquial speech". The Brief Literary Encyclopedia clarifies: "An essay is a prose work of small volume and free composition, treating a particular topic and representing an attempt to convey individual impressions and considerations, one way or another connected with it." The historical essay as a genre of the Olympiad task has the following features:

1. The presence of a specific topic or issue. A work devoted to the analysis of a wide range of problems, by definition, cannot be performed in the essay genre. The topic of an essay is always specific.
2. The personal nature of the perception of the problem and its comprehension. The essay is interesting precisely because it makes it possible to see the personality of the author, the originality of his position, style of thinking, speech, attitude to the world. An essay should always express individual impressions and thoughts on a particular issue.
3. Small volume. The question of what should be the length of the essay is one of the most frequently asked questions. Of course, there are no hard boundaries, but the size of the Olympiad essay, as a rule, does not exceed two or three pages of handwritten text in A 4 format. To a certain extent, this feature is associated with time constraints: writing an essay usually takes 1.5 hours .

CONTENT
INSTEAD OF INTRODUCTION. Address to readers
CHAPTER 1. Historical essay as a special type of Olympiad task
CHAPTER 2. For students and teachers: how to learn or teach how to write an essay?
CHAPTER 3. Examples common mistakes and how to fix them
CHAPTER 4. Tips from experienced Olympiads
APPENDIX 1. Essay texts
APPENDIX 2. Materials for checking essays
APPENDIX 3. Essay topics proposed at the final stages of the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in history 2011-2015.
APPENDIX 4. Samples of work
CONCLUSION, or Thoughts on Prospects.

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• School Olympiads of St. Petersburg State University 2018, journalism, teaching aid, Khakimova Yu.R., 2018
• School Olympiads of St. Petersburg State University 2018, mathematics, teaching aid, Goncharova M.V., Gromov A.L., Dementiev A.V., Evdokimova T.O., Kokhas K.P., Sukhov K.A., Khrabrov A. .I., 2018

Historical essay. Talyzina A.A.

M.: 2016. - 320 p.

This teaching aid summarizes the experience of preparing for writing a historical essay - a complex creative essay that is included in the set of tasks for a number of olympiads, including the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in history. The specifics of the genre are explained, detailed evaluation criteria are given, practical recommendations are given for organizing preparation for writing an essay. The appendices contain the texts of more than 40 works completed by schoolchildren at various stages of the Olympiad and published in this manual in the form in which they were written. Their careful analysis is presented and evaluation tables are given. The manual can be used as a simulator not only for writing, but also for evaluating essays. Many of the authors of the texts cited in this manual have become winners and prize-winners of various stages of the Olympiad. The book is addressed to secondary school students, teachers, methodologists, teachers of the system of additional education, organizers of Olympiads at various levels.

Format: pdf

The size: 64 MB

Watch, download: drive.google

CONTENT
INSTEAD OF INTRODUCTION. Message to Readers 3
CHAPTER 1. Historical essay as a special type of Olympiad task 6
CHAPTER 2. For students and teachers: how to learn or teach how to write an essay? .23
CHAPTER 3. Examples of Common Errors and How to Eliminate Them 36
CHAPTER 4. Tips from experienced Olympiads 57
APPENDIX 1. Essay texts 83
APPENDIX 2. Materials for checking essays 232
APPENDIX 3. Essay topics proposed at the Final stages of the All-Russian Olympiad
schoolchildren in history 2011-2015 291
APPENDIX 4. Samples of work 302
CONCLUSION, or Thoughts on Prospects 317

Good day, dear friends!

In the new video, I dismantled a few historical portraits sent to our mailbox [email protected] site by two authors - users of our site. I remind you that you can also send your examples of essays on history. We will try our best to sort them out. I must say right away that the analysis is rather tough and I urge the authors not to get upset, but to take my comments into account in a timely manner.

After watching the video, I recommend downloading the file with the reviewed history essay examples:

Also check out my versions of two similar essays.

Dmitry Donskoy

Dmitry Donskoy Moscow prince of the second half of the XIV century. The years of his reign are 1359 - 1389. The two main activities of this prince were: the struggle of the Moscow principality against the Mongol-Tatar yoke and the unification of Russian lands around Moscow.

The fight against the Mongol-Tatar yoke was expressed in the military confrontation between the Moscow principality and the Golden Horde due to the accumulation of forces by Moscow and the desire to end the yoke - the dependence of the Russian lands on the Golden Horde. It was the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich who became the leader of this struggle. The key battle in this confrontation is the Battle of Kulikovo, which took place in September 1380.

At that time, the dark man Mamai came to power in the Golden Horde, who was not a Genghisid (a descendant of Genghis Khan) and therefore wanted to strengthen his power with the help of the military subjugation of the Russian lands, which were already waging an armed struggle against the Golden Horde (the battle of the Pyan River, the battle on river Vozha). As a result of the Battle of Kulikovo, Russian troops under the command of Dmitry Donskoy and with the spiritual support of Sergius of Radonezh decisively put the Mongol-Tatar army to flight.

The second direction is connected with the fact that during the reign of Dmitry Donskoy the Principality of Moscow included, for example, the Principality of Nizhny Novgorod and a number of other principalities. And the victory on the Kulikovo field made Moscow the leader of the unification of Russian lands.

The victory at the Kulikovo field did not bring freedom from the yoke. This was manifested, for example, in the fact that in 1382 the Horde Khan Tokhtamysh went on a campaign against Moscow and burned it down. Moscow only became the leader of the resistance to the Golden Horde recognized by all Russian lands. The unification of the Russian lands did not end under Dmitry Donskoy either, the separatism of the local princes would soon (in the first half of the 15th century) turn into a feudal war, in which the Moscow authorities would win in the fight against the separatism of other princes.

Catherine II the Great

The life of Catherine the Great - 1730s to 1796 (second half of the 18th century). The main activities of Catherine the Great, in the region

domestic policy:

The secularization of church lands is the transfer of church lands into the hands of the state.

Strengthening the position of the nobility and townspeople with the help of the documents "Charter to the nobility" and "Charter to the cities". The rights and privileges of the nobility and townspeople were guaranteed, only by court could they be deprived of their position.

Reforming the state apparatus and public administration: Senate reform, administrative reform.

The fight against the peasant under the leadership of Emelyan Pugachev and, as a result, the strengthening of serf policy.

The main activities of Catherine II in the field of foreign policy:

Active foreign policy in relation to Turkey, as a result of which Russia defeated Turkey in two Russian-Turkish wars (during the reign of Catherine).

annexed the Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea coast, which contributed to the growth of trade and military influence of Russia in this region.

Partitions of Poland, during which Russia was reunited with the old Russian lands, and also annexed the Right-Bank Ukraine and the territory of present-day Belarus.

In 1783, the territory of Eastern Georgia joined Russia. The results of Catherine's activities were that, firstly, serfdom was preserved, despite the fact that Catherine was guided in her policy by the ideas of the Enlightenment. This contradiction is explained by the fact that the nobility did not want to part with their privileges. The position of the nobility and townspeople was also strengthened. In the external region, Russia reached its natural boundaries - from Ukraine to Pacific Ocean and from the Baltic to the Black Sea, becoming an empire in its entirety.

Successors: From Ivan III to Dmitry Medvedev

The book is available in different formats: an audiobook (digital version) and a paper version for lovers of traditional books. Everything is detailed and very colorful. Each portrait is drawn through his actions, life and, most importantly, through state activity.

Chronology of presentation from Ivan the Great to Dmitry Medvedev. I think the book is extremely useful for the study of historical portraits. In addition, the presence of different formats is very convenient: I personally “uploaded” the files to my phone and for two days I enjoyed the story in a variety of places: a store, a bus, a bus stop, at work, at home before going to bed.

What is an essay?

Essay - this is a prose work of small volume and free composition, expressing individual impressions and thoughts on a specific occasion or issue and obviously does not claim to be a defining or exhaustive interpretation of the subject. It involves the expression by the author of his point of view, subjective personal assessment of the subject of discussion, gives the opportunity for non-standard (creative), original coverage of the material.

Purpose of the essay consists in developing skills such as independent creative thinking and writing one's own thoughts.

Writing an essay allows the author to learn how to clearly and competently formulate thoughts, structure information, use basic concepts, highlight cause-and-effect relationships, illustrate experience with relevant examples, and argue their conclusions.

How to write an essay on history?

1. Decide on essay topic: it should be, first of all, interesting to you. Also, when choosing a topic, make sure that you can pick up historical facts and arguments for your position. Compose essay outline according to cause-and-effect relationships and the logic of the story.
2. Consider arguments for and against. Logically correct conclusions, historical facts are used as arguments. As a rule, 2-3 arguments are given in an essay.
3. Select essay style: most often it is recommended to write in a journalistic or scientific style.

Essay structure

Title page(see Appendix No. 1).
Introduction. Start your essay with an introduction explaining why you chose this topic. Then reveal the relevance of the topic and determine the positions of different authors on the proposed problem .
Main part. This part involves argumentation and analysis, as well as substantiation of the theses, based on the available data and positions on this issue. Give your point of view and its confirmation by the selected arguments, based on historical facts, journalistic and literary sources or social experience. In the process of constructing an essay, it must be remembered that one paragraph should contain only one statement and the corresponding evidence.
Conclusion sums up the essay or once again makes an explanation, set out in the main part. You can complete your essay rhetorical question or a message to the reader. However, it is best to write a clear conclusion from the above arguments, confirming your attitude to the problem.

Criteria for evaluation

1. Knowledge and understanding of theoretical material.
2. Analysis and evaluation of information. The historical sources on which the competition work is based can be very different. It is essential that all documents are carefully commented and subjected to critical analysis. This, in fact, is the main criterion for evaluating the work, although the jury, no doubt, will note the new valuable historical material found and the ability of the contestant to express his thoughts.
3. Erudition: knowledge and logical presentation of factual material, familiarity with the names of famous historians
4. Building judgments:

• clarity and clarity of presentation,
• proof logic,
• the theses put forward are accompanied by competent argumentation

Work form.

The work must have a title page. The volume of work is from 3 to 5 sheets of printed text in Times New Roman 14 font, interval - 1.5. The bibliography is obligatory: all the sources that you used and refer to (see Appendix No. 2).

Essay Topics

1. "... Where did the Russian Land come from ..."(Nestor).
2. Mongolian trace in history.
3. Ivan the Terrible: Reformer or Tyrant, Evil or Good for Russia?
4. Time of Troubles: Origins and Causes.
5. Did Peter I open a window to Europe or did he drive Russia into a European corner?
6. “Catherine II did not give the people freedom and enlightenment. But she let the minds feel the price of these benefits ”(V. Klyuchevsky).
7. Patriotic war of 1812 in the fate of Russia.
8. Decembrists: heroes or rebels?
9. October 17th year - coup or revolution?
10. The price of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War.
11. Autocratic monarchy: its features in the XXI century.
12. "I am convinced - far from accidental - that it is Russia that has become famous for its outstanding philanthropists, wonderful examples of voluntary, disinterested service to society, the people" (V.V. Putin)

1. Bushuev S.V., Mironov G.E. History of the Russian State: Historical and Biographical Essays, Book. 1, M., 1991.
2. Vilkov V., Stepanov Yu. Great rulers of Russia: a modern version. - Rostov-on-Don, 2012.
3. Geller M.Ya. History of the Russian Empire. T. 1. - M .. 2001.
4. Gumilyov L.N. From Rus' to Russia. - M., 1997.
5. Decembrists: Selected Works. - M., 2010
6. History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the 19th century - M., 1996.
7. Karamzin N.M. History of the Russian state: in 3 books. - M., 1988.
8. Klyuchevsky V.O. Works: in 9 volumes - M., 1987.
9. Platonov S.F. Collected works on Russian history in 2 volumes - St. Petersburg, 1993.
10. Russia: autobiography / Comp. M.A. Fedotova, K.M. Queen. - St. Petersburg, 2009.
11. Sakharov A.N., Nazarov B.D., Bokhanov A.N. Devotees of Russia: historical essays. - M., 2002.
12. Soloviev S.M. Works in 18 volumes - M., 1988-1994.
13. Shefov N.A. Millennium of Russian history. Chronicle of Russian history brief description significant events. - M., 2001.

You may refer to other sources at your discretion. Good luck!

Application No. 1

Essay on history on the topic:

“Peter I opened a window to Europe or drove Russia into a European corner?”

2nd year student of the history department of the Leningrad State Pedagogical University.

Home address :

Lipetsk, st. Gagarin, 10-10

e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You must have JavaScript enabled to view.

Application No. 2

List of used literature:

1. Anisimov E.V. History of Russia from Rurik to Putin. People. Developments. Dates. - St. Petersburg, 2006.
2. Buganov V.I. Peter the Great and his time / V.I. Buganov. - M., 1989.
3. Molchanov N.N. Diplomacy of Peter the Great. - M., 1984.
4. Peter the Great. Favorites. - M., 2010.
5. Peter the Great: pro et contra. - St. Petersburg, 2011.

An essay is a mini-essay on a specific topic. But very often writing it causes some difficulties for children, so I decided to put a little methodological material to help teachers and students how to write an essay on history

when writing an essay, I used sites

Download:

Preview:

To facilitate the work of preparing students for writing an essay, we offer various options for clichés that are appropriate to use in the examination paper.

http://www. edu. en/- federal portal "Russian education". Contains an overview of the educational resources of the Internet, regulations, educational standards and much more.

http://www. rusolymp. ru - the federal portal of Russian Olympiads for schoolchildren

http://ecsocman. edu. ru/ - federal educational portal "Economics, sociology, management". Collected materials on social and economic history Russia, including journal articles and materials round tables devoted to the problems of the historical path of Russia.

http://www. mospat. ru/index. html - the official Web-server of the Moscow Patriarchate.

http://his.1september. ru/index. php - electronic version of the newspaper "History" - an appendix to the newspaper "First of September".

http://www. history. en/- Russian electronic journal "World of History".

http://www. shm. ru/ - the website of the State Historical Museum presents the materials of the main exposition dedicated to the history of Russia, including those covering its initial period.

http://hermitage. museum. ru/ - the site of one of the largest museums in the world - the Hermitage offers a virtual tour of its halls, including exhibits illustrating the initial period of world and Russian history.

http://archeology. kiev. ua/cultures/ - a multimedia portal containing comprehensive information about archaeological sites in Eastern Europe, materials of reconstruction of the stages and nature of Russian-Scandinavian relations.

http://www. master. msk. ru/library/history/history1.htm - the site contains basic materials for studying Russian history. Here you can find the following texts: N. M. Karamzin. History of Russian Goverment; V. O. Klyuchevsky. Russian history course; N. I. Kostomarov. Russian history in the biographies of its main figures; S. M. SOLOVIEV History of Russia since ancient times; V. N. Tatishchev. Russian history; Metropolitan Macarius. History of the Russian Church; S. F. Platonov. A complete course of lectures on Russian history.

http://www. sib. net/n_russia/ - the site contains materials about the Scythians who inhabited the steppe part of Eurasia in the Greco-Roman era: dates; names; titles; description of dwellings, clothes, customs.

http://oldslav. chat. ru - the history of the settlement of Slavic agricultural tribes and their relationship with nomadic tribes from Asia.

http://paganism. en/a-cloth. htm - the history of the ancient Russian costume: outerwear, headdresses, neck torcs. Illustrations.

http://lants. tellur. ru/history/danilevsky/ - lectures by the famous historian I. N. Danilevsky about the origin Eastern Slavs and the formation of a feudal state (including Kievan Rus, paganism, the adoption of Christianity, etc.).

http://his.1september. ru/2002/23/1.htm - materials from the new textbook by S. N. Bledny, I. V. Lebedev "History of Russia". Presented are excerpts from the writings of Herodotus, Procopius of Caesarea; fragments of the works of Russian historians - Klyuchevsky, Solovyov, Platonov.

http://lants. tellur. ru/history/ - a library of links to informational articles and historical materials. Genealogical tree of Russian princes of the 9th - 11th centuries, short biographies princes Rurikovich, chronological table(IX - XVII centuries), maps of Ancient Rus'. Several lectures from the course of I. N. Danilevsky " Ancient Rus' through the eyes of contemporaries and descendants (IX-XII centuries)”. Handbook on the history of Rus', etc.

http://lib. userline. ru/689?secid=8324&num=1 – electronic version of The Tale of Bygone Years.

http://www. chrono. en/libris/lib_p/index. html - electronic version of the course of lectures on Russian history by S. F. Platonov.

http://www. chrono. ru/libris/lib_s/skr00.html - the site contains an electronic version of the book "Old Russian State" by R. G. Skrynnikov.

http://www. chrono. ru/dokum/pravda72.html - the site contains two texts: "Russian Truth" in a short and lengthy version.

http://oldru. people. ru/ - electronic library: K. Egorov's monograph "Education of Kievan Rus", historical sources, articles. Collection of cards. Bibliography.

http://www. master. msk. ru/library/history/makary/makary. htm - full electronic version of the multi-volume work of Metropolitan Macarius "History of the Russian Church", written by him in 1866 - 1883. (covers the period from the tenth to the eighteenth century).

http://his.1september. ru/2001/42/no42_01.htm - domestic historians about the era of Ivan the Terrible.

http://ou. tsu. ru/hischool/his_JuF/ - the main stages in the history of the formation of the Russian state in the XIV - XVII centuries. Tables, diagrams, dictionary.

http://klio. webservis. ru/lec7_1.htm - lecture notes on the history of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The formation of the autocratic system in Russia. Fragments of the memoirs of contemporaries, as well as assessments of this period in the works of Russian historians. Dictionary hyperlinks by person, term, etc.

http://www. chrono. ru/libris/lib_s/skrynn00.html - the site contains an electronic version of the book "The Third Rome" by R. G. Skrynnikov, dedicated to the history of Russia in the 15th - 16th centuries.

http://kursy. rsuh. ru/istoria/moskva/moskva. asp - site dedicated to the history of Moscow. The site provides information on the history of the city in the 17th century.

http://old-rus. people. ru/paper. html - this section of the site contains articles and studies that examine various periods of Russian history and ancient Russian literature, including those dedicated to the Time of Troubles.

http://sscadm. nsu. ru/deps/hum/readerhist10/smuta. html - electronic version of the anthology on the history of Russia (Grade 10). Time of Troubles in Russia at the beginning of the 17th century. through the eyes of contemporaries.

http://www. Moscow Kremlin. ru/romanovs. html - a virtual tour about the Romanov dynasty. Chronology. Personalities, contemporaries, major events, regalia and personal belongings. Collection of images and photographs. Created on the basis of the CD-ROM "Romanov Dynasty" of the Cominfo company.

http://www. chronos. km. ru/1700ru_lit. html - a chronological table of the main cultural events in Russia in the 18th century.

http://grandwar. kulichki. net/books/dubov01.html - Russia's war with France, Suvorov's campaign in Italy, Russia's policy in Europe. Map of Europe in 1799

http://rels. obninsk. com/Rels/Limited/Nsub/ml/9801/hist-1.htm - Catherine II: Charter to the cities of 1785

http://lichm. people. ru/Part4/411.htm - the era of Peter's reforms.

http://syw-cwg. people. ru/ - The Seven Years' War.

http://fstanitsa. ru/gla_pugachev. shtml - biography of Emelyan Pugachev - the leader of the peasant war of 1773 - 1775. Illustrations (reproductions of paintings).

http://his.1september. ru/2000/no09.htm - stories from Russian history of the 18th century. Fragments from the book of entertaining stories. Material for lessons in 6-9 grades. Texts about the events of the 18th century: transformations of Peter I, palace coups etc.

http://dinastya.ru people. ru/ - the reign of Alexander III (1881 - 1894): coming to power, domestic and foreign policy, Russian national building, peacemaker tsar.

http://www. fiction book. ru/author/lyashenko_leonid_mihayilovich/aleksandr_ii_ili_istoriya_trehodinochestv/lyashenko_aleksandr_ii_ili_istoriya_treh_odinochestv. html - L. M. Lyashenko's book "Alexander II", a comprehensive description of the life of a man who occupies an exceptional place among Russian autocrats.

http://old-map. people. ru/all-17.html - a map of Russia and the tribes inhabiting it (1866).

http://www. hist. msu. ru/ER/Etext/PICT/russia. htm - library of electronic resources of Moscow State University.

http://www. nsu. ru/vk/info/d_205.htm#Heading - the site presents the material " Military reform 60 - 70s 19th century.

http://dinastya.ru people. ru/ - a site dedicated to the personality of Alexander III. The site presents the materials of the monograph by N. D. Talberg "Alexander III".

http://chronos. km. ru/biograf/alexand3.html - project "Chronos", which presents the biography of Alexander III. Here you can also get acquainted with the letters of K. P. Pobedonostsev to Alexander I.

http://www. architecture. ru/peredvizh. htm - site dedicated to history visual arts. This page contains information about Russian Wanderers.

http://rusart. nm. ru/ - a site dedicated to the Wanderers.

http://www. Altai. fio. ru/projects/group3/potok69/site/moguchaya. htm - the site tells about the work of musicians who were part of the Mighty Handful.

http://www. encspb. ru/ - the site "Encyclopedia of St. Petersburg" tells about the architectural styles used by the architects of the city, including the styles of the second half of XIX in.

http://www. alchemist. en/great/mendel. html - site "Great Chemists" tells about the outstanding discovery of D. A. Mendeleev. It also presents a biography of the great chemist.

http://www. gramma. ru; http://www. krugosvet. en – on these sites you can find interesting material about the essay.

"History does not teach anything, but only punishes for ignorance of the lessons."
(V.O. Klyuchevsky)

At first glance, it may seem that the outstanding Russian historian V. O. Klyuchevsky could not say that history teaches nothing. In my opinion, Klyuchevsky wanted to emphasize that if we do not know history, then we will be punished for this in life. And I agree with him.

History is one of the oldest sciences. It arose with the appearance of man on earth. Studying history, we consider the path of mankind over the millennia, i.e. we study the historical process. The historical process is a succession of successive events in which the activities of many generations of people have manifested themselves.

There are events behind history; certain past or passing phenomena, facts public life. And each historical event has specific features inherent only to it, and the elucidation of these features makes it possible to present this or that event more fully, more colorfully. In addition, every historical event is important.

Need to study historical events to learn the right lesson. Of course, history never repeats itself twice. After all, social sciences differ from natural sciences, where some physical phenomenon can be reproduced any number of times. But history also has its own patterns. Knowing them, it is easier to predict the current social development, prevent trouble. They say the French king Louis XUI before his execution read a book about the English king Charles I, who was also executed by the revolutionaries. And if he had read the book earlier, he might not have made the mistakes that provoked the revolution in France.

I would like to give examples from the history of Russia. Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the territory of Russia with the aim of capturing it. And it even seemed to him that with the capture of Moscow, Russia would be in his hands. And how shameful was his escape from Russia! In his memoirs, he warned others not to go to war with Russia. But the ambitious fascist leader Adolf Hitler decided to go to Russia again. How did it end?! The defeat of Nazi Germany in Berlin. Here it is - the punishment for ignorance of history, the inability to draw appropriate conclusions. The same thing happens in ordinary life.

So, we can conclude that history does not forgive her ignorance.

"World history is a course of development of the principle, the content of which is the consciousness of freedom" (G. Hegel).

What is the historical development? What is the essence of social progress? These questions have worried humanity for a long time and continue to worry to this day. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, a German philosopher, one of the founders of German classical philosophy and the philosophy of romanticism, gives his answer to them. He believes that the entire course of history is a movement towards the recognition and protection of the rights and freedoms of the individual, and this movement is progress. And I fully agree with this point of view.

If you look back at history, then such a movement becomes obvious. Antiquity, with its republican institutions, the cult of the free citizen, was based on slavery. The Middle Ages "distributed" freedom more evenly: the difference between the feudal lord and the dependent peasant was great, but incomparable with the difference between the master and the slave, it should also be remembered that in the Middle Ages the path from one class to another was difficult, but open (small example: minister Philip the Handsome, Nogaret, came from merchants). In addition, there were free cities, and workshops, and communes, autonomous universities, and royal power in the mature Middle Ages was already limited to popular representations. Yes, a person was squeezed within the framework of his corporation, but within these frameworks he also received a certain freedom, and after all, a person’s freedom is always limited within some limits, the only question is in what. The framework of the Middle Ages was expanded by the new time. The estate system is being destroyed, the spiritual dictate of the church is coming to an end, restrictions continue, and in some countries royal power is being overthrown, the rights and freedoms of citizens are being expanded. And, finally, in our days, the person becomes at the forefront.

You might think. that this process is taking place only in Europe, but in fact such changes are typical for the whole world: in most countries today there is a republican system, in many Muslim states women are successfully fighting for their rights.

And the question whether the freedom of the individual, the possibility of her choosing her own path, the struggle for her happiness, is progress, does not need proof. It is like the axioms of geometry on which all theorems rest. Although the freedom of the individual, like everything in this world, has its downsides. Squeezed within his group, a person always had protection and support at the same time. Having gained great freedom, he simultaneously found her frequent companion - loneliness.

Thus, I came to the conclusion that the history of mankind is a development, which consists in moving towards freedom.

"A nation is a society of people who, through a common destiny, acquire a single character." (O. Power)

In addition to classes and other social groups the social structure of society is made up of historically established communities of people: tribes, nationalities, nations. We will try to answer the question of what a nation means, and what definitions science gives to this concept. A nation is the most developed historical and cultural community of people. It develops over a long time as a result of the connection and interweaving of various tribes and nationalities. Among the properties of a nation, one can single out the commonality of the territory of residence, the national economy, self-government, and cultural features. Usually representatives of one nation speak and write the same language. But language is not an indisputable sign of a nation.

For example, the British and Americans speak English language but they are different nations. The unity of the nation is facilitated by the commonality of their historical path. Each nation has its roots in history, has passed its own unique way.
I agree with the author's statement and would like to give an example of the basic values ​​of Russian culture. In Russia, unlike in the West, nature did not give a person the hope that one day it would be possible to “tame” and “domesticate” it. Nature has accustomed man to excessive short-term exertion of his forces, to work quickly and quickly. Not a single people in Europe was capable of such a strain of labor for a short time as the Russians.

It seems that there was no such unaccustomed to even, moderate and measured constant work, as in Russia. Until now, Russian people hope for "maybe", put off for tomorrow.

Or take another people - the Japanese. The situation after the Second World War forced them to give up holidays in order to get their economy back on its feet. Today they do not need this, but hard work is in their blood. It is interesting to see how historical fate can divide a single people. The South Slavs in the Middle Ages found themselves in different historical conditions. Croatia, which became part of the German Empire, was influenced by Western civilization, the Bosnians became Muslim, becoming part of the Turkish Empire. now this different nations, although they share a common origin and language. So the differences between Western and Eastern Ukraine are explained by the difference in their historical destinies.

The list of examples could be continued, dwelling on each nation in detail. However, we believe that all of them will only confirm the correctness of the statement.

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SECOND ROUND

FIRST PART

HISTORICAL ESSAY

1. “The foundation of the Eagle was an event of state, all-Russian significance, and the whole life of the townspeople, their military and creative efforts, the strength of the spirit in the past centuries were proof of this” (“History of the city of Orel”).
2. “The Christianization of Rus' and the kinship of the ruling family with the Byzantine court introduced Rus' into the family of European peoples on absolutely equal grounds” (D.S. Likhachev).
3. “Under the name of St. Sergius, the people recall their moral revival, which made possible the political revival, and affirms the rule that a political fortress is strong only when it rests on moral strength” (V.O. Klyuchevsky).
4. “Ivan III is a ruler who, in terms of the scope of his activities, can only be compared with Peter I” (N.S. Borisov).
5. “Just as Peter laid new foundations for our entire state life, so Lomonosov transformed, and in part founded, almost all areas of science” (V.F. Khodasevich).
6. “It is easy to see that some of the undertakings of Peter III had a progressive character ... However, this progressive character is crossed out by the methods by which he tried to carry them out, indicating his complete lack of such an important quality as political realism” (A.B. Kamensky).
7. “The main reason that did not allow the release of the peasants and try to change the political system already in early XIX century, there was resistance from the vast majority of the nobility ”(S.V. Mironenko).
8. “Due to the current historical situation, Alexander II turned out to be, as it were, a reluctant reformer. Is it not from here that his most important political principle stemmed: ... reforms should not lead to the destabilization of society, and the progress they achieve should not damage the position of any strata ”(Sidorov A.V.).
9. “Having connected Russia to the world economy, Witte made the country experience not only booms, but also world crises” (G.A. Bordyugov).
10. “Russia was by no means defeated. The army couldfight on. But... St. Petersburg is "tired" of the war more than the army" (I.A. Denikin on the end of the Russo-Japanese War).
11. “The revolution of 1917 was not a historical accident, but realized the most probable potential for the development of Russian society with all its contradictions that Russia had accumulated by the beginning of the 20th century.” (A.S. Senyavsky).
12. “The second front in the broad sense of the word began long before its formal opening” (D.A. Medvedev).
13. “Our cosmonautics could not have achieved the successes known to the whole world without the high level of education and technical development that the country had in Soviet times” (N.I. Ryzhkov).
14. “The collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century, primarily due to the destruction of the existing system of the bipolar world” (A.G. Lukashenko).
15. “The Belovezhskaya agreements did not dissolve the USSR, but only stated its actual disintegration by that time” (B.N. Yeltsin).

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SECOND ROUND,

Time to prepare the first and second parts - 3 hours.

FIRST PART

HISTORICAL ESSAY

Grade 11

Maximum score -50 points

You have to work with the statements of historians and contemporaries about the events and figures of national history. Choose one of them that will be the topic of your essay. Your task is to formulate your own attitude to this statement and substantiate it with the arguments that seem to you the most significant. When choosing a topic, proceed from the fact that you:

1. You clearly understand the meaning of the statement (it is not necessary to fully or even partially agree with the author, but it is necessary to understand what exactly he claims).
2. You can express your attitude to the statement (arguably agree with the author or completely or partially refute his statement).
3. Have specific knowledge (facts, statistics, examples) on the topic.
4. You know the terms necessary for a competent presentation of your point of view.

When writing your work, try to proceed from the fact that the Jury, evaluating your essay, will be guided by the following criteria:

1. The validity of the choice of topic (an explanation of the choice of topic and the tasks that the participant sets for himself in his work).
2. The creative nature of the perception of the topic, its comprehension.
3. Literacy in the use of historical facts and terms.
4. Clarity and evidence of the main provisions of the work.
5. Knowledge of different points of view on the chosen issue.

1. “The geographical position in the west of Russia predetermined the special role of Smolensk, the “key-city” to Moscow, and the Smolensk region as a whole in protecting the country” (Yu.G. Ivanov).
2. "Political successes of the peoples included in the Old Russian state... became possible only under certain conditions of their internal development. It would be naive to think that the unification of the Eastern Slavs and non-Slavic peoples under the rule of Kyiv is the result of any external interference ”(B. D. Grekov).
3. “In all the actions of Svyatoslav, we see the hand of a commander and a statesman interested in the rise of Rus' and the strengthening of its international position. A series of campaigns of Svyatoslav was wisely conceived and brilliantly carried out ”(B.A. Rybakov).
4. “Moscow princes develop a peculiar policy early, from the first steps they begin to act out of the ordinary, earlier and more decisively than others they leave the usual rut of princely relations, looking for new ways” (V.O. Klyuchevsky).
5. “Ivan III is a hero not only of Russia, but also world history... Under him, Russia, as an independent power, majestically raised its head on the borders of Europe and Asia, calm inside and not afraid of external enemies ”(N.M. Karamzin).
6. “The naming of the Russian state as an empire, and Peter as the all-Russian emperor, reflected profound changes in the internal and international situation of the country. A state whose participation in international affairs was limited to relations with neighboring countries Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, has now firmly entered the circle of European powers ”(N.I. Pavlenko).
7. “Catherine can be called the culprit of serfdom, not in the sense that she created it, but in the fact that this right under her from a fluctuating fact, justified by the temporary needs of the state, turned into a right recognized by law, not justified by anything” (V.O. Klyuchevsky).
8. “Although many Russians, especially at court and in the army, had every reason to forget about Paul, in fact, what Paul accomplished during the four years and three months of his reign turned out to be fundamental for Russia in the first half of the 19th century.” (Roderick McGrew, American historian).
9. “The government system of Emperor Nicholas I was one of the most consistent attempts to implement the idea of ​​enlightened absolutism” (A.A. Kornilov).
10. " Politics Nicholas II always came down to making minimal concessions to society in extreme cases, and not fulfilling these solemn promises if there was the slightest opportunity for this ”(F.A. Golovin).
11. “The war probably postponed the explosion of the bourgeois-democratic revolution, but brought the socialist revolution closer” (P.V. Volobuev).
12. “It is hard not to admit that some kind of collectivization was dictated by the course of events. The old Russian peasant agriculture, by Western standards, was in the Middle Ages ”(C. Snow).
13. “Starting the war, the leadership of Germany proceeded from the fact that the Soviet multinational state would break up into warring national groups. However, this calculation did not materialize” (O.A. Rzheshevsky).
14. "Victory in the Great Patriotic war was achieved not so much thanks to Stalin, but in spite of him, in spite of his grave mistakes and crimes, which cost our people so dearly ”(G.Ya. Rudoy).
15. “What has been happening to Russia since 1991 cannot be called reforms. This is nothing but a "revolution from above" (V.V. Zhuravlev).

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SECOND ROUND

RESEARCH PROJECT

The most important thing in the profession of a historian is the analysis of a source, the ability to extract the necessary information from it. Before you is one of the Statutory Charters, the most important documents of the peasant reform of 1861. Based on it, write a short work on the topic:"Regulation of relations between the peasant and the landowner during the peasant reform of 1861".

REGULATIONS OF THE NIZHNY NOVGOROD PROVINCE, GORBATOBCKOGO UYZD, VILLAGE OF BARKINA, BY LIEUTENANT GENERAL AVDOTY SEMENOVNA ERSHOVOY'S LANDSHIP. DONE FEBRUARY 15, 1862.

I. 1) In the village of Barkina, according to the 10th national census, the souls of peasants are male - 44.

None of them were released after the audit.

2) From among those listed as peasants, they are not subject to allotment of land as having refused it on the basis of Art. 8. Local position - 5 souls.

3) Then, on the basis of the Regulations, thirty-nine revision male souls must receive for use a land allotment.

II. 1) The entire land was in the use of the peasants before the promulgation of the Regulations on the peasants 214 acres 1212 sazhens.

2) Of these, actually under the peasant estate settlement, five tithes, three hundred and sixty-six sazhens (including 1 tithe, 266 sazhens of pasture, which is used by the peasants). (…)

3) For the area where the village is located, the highest size of a per capita allotment is determined by the Local Regulations on the land arrangement of peasants - 4 acres, and the lowest - 1 acres 800 sazhens; and according to the number of souls in the village: the highest amount of allotment for the entire peasant society would be 156 acres, and the lowest 52 acres.

4) Although, on the basis of the figures for the highest size of the per capita allotment determined by the Local Regulations on Peasants, 156 acres should remain for the use of the peasants of the village of Barkina, but as all the land with forests convenient on the estate is listed according to the plan, 214 acres 1212 sazhens, then according to the right granted to the owners on the basis 20 st. The local position to keep at its disposal up to one third of the total - the peasants are left in constant use of one hundred and forty-three acres 8 sazhens, the rest of the land should be cut off and placed at the disposal of the landowner. (…)

III. 1) A peasant building with an estate settled way of life is not subject to transfer to other places.

2) The watering hole located near the village remains in the common use of the landowner and peasants.

3) Driving cattle to a watering place from the land remaining at the disposal of the landowner to the pond should be along a country road leading to the village of Barkina.

4) The pasture located at the village remains in the use of the peasants.

IV. 1) For the land provided for the use of peasants in the amount of 3 tithes 1600 sazhens per capita is due on the basis of the Regulations of quitrent from each shower plot of eight rubles sixty-two and a half kopecks a year, and from all 39 shower plots - three hundred and thirty-six rubles thirty-seven with half a kopeck in silver a year. But as the peasants, before the promulgation of the Regulations, paid from the whole society a quitrent of two hundred and seventy-four rubles and thirty-four kopecks, then on the basis of 170 Art. Locally, they must remain at the existing dues, which will amount to seven rubles, three and a half kopecks per year for each revision soul.

2) Peasants are obliged to pay dues in two terms: March 1 and October 1, 137 rubles each. 17 kopecks. (...)

4) The whole society of peasants is responsible for the proper service of duties with mutual responsibility on the basis of the rules established by the Local Regulations.

Lieutenant-General Avdotya Semyonovna Ershova had a hand in the original charter.

On October 20, 1862, the statutory charter of the village of Barkina was certified by the conciliator of the 1st section of the Gorbatovsky district. Signed by mediator Babkin 1862 November 24 days.

The statutory charter was approved by the Gorbatovsky district congress.

Signed by: mediator of the 2nd section Beklemishev, mediator of the 3rd section Astafiev and mediator of the 4th section Gutyar.

With a genuine statutory charter, it is true: the world mediator Babkin.

1. Statement of the problem, characterization of the historical moment described in the source

2. Characteristics of the source and the possibilities that it gives to illuminate the problem

3. Analysis of the position of the peasants and the essence of how the relationship between the landowner and the peasants is defined by the document.

4. Conclusions. Evaluation of their significance for understanding the implementation of the peasant reform.

We ask you to indicate with numbers the parts of the work that correspond to the points of this plan.

Keep in mind that the jury will focus on the ability to clearly formulate your positions and argue them with the help of a source - pay special attention to the third point of the plan.

THIRD ROUND

HISTORICAL ESSAY

Maximum score - 50 points

Here are the statements of historians and contemporaries about the events and figures of national history. Choose one of them that will be the topic of your essay. Your task is to formulate your own attitude to this statement and substantiate it with the arguments that seem to you the most significant. When choosing a topic, proceed from the fact that you:

1. You clearly understand the meaning of the statement (it is not necessary to fully or even partially agree with the author, but it is necessary to understand what exactly he claims).
2. You can express your attitude to the statement (arguably agree with the author or completely or partially refute his statement).
3. Have specific knowledge (facts, statistics, examples) on the topic.
4. You know the terms necessary for a competent presentation of your point of view.

Keep in mind that the Jury, evaluating your work, will be guided by the following criteria:

1. The validity of the choice of topic (an explanation of the choice of topic and the tasks that the participant sets for himself in his work).
2. The creative nature of the perception of the topic, its comprehension.
3. Literacy in the use of historical facts and terms.
4. Clarity and evidence of the main provisions of the work.
5. Knowledge of different points of view on the chosen issue.

ESSAY TOPICS

1. “After the death of Kalita, Rus' remembered his reign for a long time, when for the first time in a hundred years of slavery she managed to breathe freely” (V.O. Klyuchevsky).
2. “Prudence, slowness, caution, a strong aversion to decisive measures that could have won a lot, but also lost, and at the same time, steadfastness in bringing to the end what had been started, composure - these are the distinguishing features of his activity” (S.M. Solovyov about Ivan III).
3. “With one foot, he still firmly rested on his native Orthodox antiquity, and the other was already brought over the line, and he remained in this indecisive transitional position” (V.O. Klyuchevsky about Alexei Mikhailovich).
4. “The naming of the Russian state as an empire, and Peter as the all-Russian emperor, reflected profound changes in the internal and international situation of the country. The state, whose participation in international affairs was limited to relations with the neighboring countries of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, has now firmly entered the circle of European powers. (N.I. Pavlenko).
5. “The Decembrists are a historical accident, overgrown with literature” (V.O. Klyuchevsky).
6. “It would be unfair to deny the enormous successes made during this 30-year reign (of Nicholas I) in all branches of the state structure of Russia; in everything that was done during this period, the Sovereign had personal, direct leadership ”(D.A. Milyutin).
7. “It was possible to completely disagree with many ideas of the Bolsheviks ... but one must be impartial and admit that the transfer of power into the hands of the proletariat in October 1917, carried out by Lenin and Trotsky, determined the salvation of the country, saving it from anarchy” (V. Ignatiev) .
8. “One of the main mistakes of the Germans is due to the fact that they were deceived in their calculations about the lack of cohesion of the multinational Soviet state and underestimated the patriotic readiness of the Russians to fight for their homeland” (From an English magazine 1945).
9. “Having won a victory, despite colossal casualties and destruction, Soviet Union increased its power and international prestige to an unprecedented degree” (V.P. Smirnov).
10. “Unfortunately, Kosygin was never able to complete the reform for a number of reasons, one of which - and the main one, in my opinion, was the lack of support from the majority of Politburo members.” (N.K. Baibakov).

SECOND ROUND

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE JURY

Time to prepare the project and essay - 3 hours

Both tasks - the project and the essay - are given to the participants at the same time, they can independently allocate the time assigned for their implementation.

research project

The maximum total score for the project is 50. In accordance with the recommended work plan of paragraphs. 1, 2, 4 are worth a maximum of 10 points, point 3 (the main part of the work) - a maximum of 20 points. Evaluating each of the necessary elements of the essay, the jury should pay attention to the clarity and literary presentation, the ability to formulate their thoughts and operate with facts and excerpts from the source to prove it. Gross speech and grammatical errors that make it difficult to understand what is written can also be considered grounds for deducting points.

1. Statement of the problem, characterization of the historical moment (up to 10 points)

It is important that this part is precisely the statement of the problem, and not a presentation of the corresponding sections of the textbook. In the latter case, the assessment of the entire first part of the work is not higher than 4.

The question must necessarily be clearly posed that the land, according to the Regulations on peasants who emerged from serfdom, was recognized as landowners, while the peasants were legally assigned the right to redeem part of it. The size of the land to be redeemed was determined depending on the pre-reform peasant allotment, but if the pre-reform allotment exceeded the highest norm, cuts were made, and if it was less than the lowest, cuts were made. The amount of land was calculated based on the number of men included in the audit; women and children born after the audit were not taken into account. Yard people were not subject to allotment of land. It is also important that the participant knows the term “temporarily liable” and can explain its essence: until the time when the peasants make a redemption operation, they have the right to use allotment land, but must bear feudal duties for this - corvée or dues. The amount of duties was calculated on the basis of their pre-reform amount, adjusted upwards or downwards if it went beyond the higher or lower norms for the given locality specified in the law.

1. Characteristics of the source and the opportunities it provides for highlighting the problem (up to 10 points).

The participant must understand that the Statutory Charter determined the boundaries of peasant allotments and the size of duties and were drawn up by agreement between the landowner and the peasants with the participation of a conciliator. They recorded the relationship of peasants and landowners for the entire period of the temporary state. It is good if the participant knows that it was the signing of the statutory letters that caused the greatest difficulties in the first years of the reform: on January 1, 1863, the peasants refused to sign about 60% of the letters.

1. Analysis of the situation of the peasants and the essence of how the relationship between the landowner and peasants is defined by the document (up to 20 points).

The participant's reasoning may contain the following ideas:

On the situation of the peasants (up to 10 points). The village of Barkino, according to the charter, appears as a small quitrent estate, in which there was no lordly economy before the reform. Judging by the fact that all the land was in the use of the peasants, there was no estate either. At the same time, the village, apparently, was relatively poor, because. the dues paid earlier turned out to be lower than established by law. The participant must say very clearly that as a result of the reform, the economic situation of the peasants worsened, because. the size of the plots was reduced by a third, and the size of the quitrent remained the same. It is also good if he knows that such a situation is not typical for the Nizhny Novgorod province, where the cuts slightly prevailed over the cuts. At the same time, the author may note that the total size of allotments in the village of Barkino is still close to the maximum norm.

About the essence of relations between the landowner and peasants (up to 10 points). Works that contain at least attempts to determine the features of the area in which the village under study is located should be highly appreciated. Ideally, if the author is able to formulate the idea that in the Non-Black Earth Region, where the amount of quitrents depended not so much on the size of the peasants' field economy, but on the profitability of peasant crafts, the calculation of payment for the use of allotments based on the quitrent meant, in essence, the obligation of the peasants to redeem personal freedom . Judging by the fact that the letter was not signed by the peasants, this state of affairs caused their discontent.

It is very important that each of the stated provisions be formulated clearly and argued with citations from the source. Points should be reduced for fuzzy wording or weak argumentation.

If participants offer original ideas that are not provided for in these instructions, the commission should be in each specific case make a collective decision. In this case, the number of experts reading the work cannot be less than four, and their decision must be approved by the general vote of the jury.

1. Conclusions. Evaluation of their significance for understanding the Peasant Reform (up to 10 points).

The jury must evaluate the depth of the findings and the clarity of their formulation. Assessing the significance of their results for understanding the implementation of the peasant reform, the participant must clearly understand that the studied document does not allow characterizing this process as a whole, it can only be used as an illustration, a special case.

Essay on history for the All-Russian Olympiads

year 2013

1. “Brutally cracking down on his opponents from among other Russian princes,

not disdaining Tatar help for this, Kalita achieved a significant gain

power of the Moscow principality"

(L.V. Cherepnin).

I never thought that I could be touched by the idea expressed by the famous historian L.V. Cherepnin that Ivan Kalita is a kind of "policeman", a traitor to the entire Russian people, a protege of the Mongol Khan Uzbek. On the one hand, we can agree with this point of view, because in 1237, when the Mongol Khan Uzbek decided to create a puppet state on the Russian lands occupied by the Horde, he needed people who could control the situation in such vast spaces. They could suppress the constant Russian anti-Mongol uprisings that threatened to result in the expulsion of the invaders from Rus'. And such traitors, according to Cherepnin L.V. found - they were headed by the prince of the then provincial city of Moscow - Ivan Kalita. He decided, relying on Mongolian spears and bows, to expand his possessions at the cost of betraying the Russian liberation struggle. And he received for this from Uzbek a label (powers of the governor) and military assistance. In exchange, Ivan Kalita had to suppress all Russian anti-Mongolian uprisings, which he did with sophisticated cruelty, as is typical of all traitors to his people.In 1960, the capital work of L. V. Cherepnin saw the lightdedicated to the history of Rus' in the XIV-XV centuries. There is in it and a characteristic of the personality of Ivan Kalita was given. “Kalita does not need to be idealized. (That’s what didn’t exist, that didn’t exist! - N. B.) He was the son of his time and class, a cruel, cunning, hypocritical ruler, but smart, stubborn and purposeful. ... "This prince (Kalita) brutally suppressed those spontaneous popular movements that undermined the foundations of the Horde's dominance over Russia ... Cruelly cracking down on his opponents from among other Russian princes, not disdaining Tatar help for this, Kalita achieved a significant increase in the power of the Moscow principality" .

Ivan Kalita, what can be said about the person who bore this name and this nickname? The first ruler of Moscow... A hoarding prince, nicknamed a "money bag" for his tight-fistedness... A cunning and unscrupulous hypocrite who managed to gain confidence in the Khan of the Golden Horde and, in the name of his personal interests, led the Tatars to Russian cities... So, it seems , and that's it. This is the usual image of Ivan Kalita. But this image is nothing more than a myth created for the needs of simple-minded curiosity. In the sources, we will not find its unconditional confirmation. However, we will not find its complete negation. As is often the case, brief historical documents leave room for a variety of interpretations. In such cases, much depends on the historian, on what he wants to see, peering into the foggy mirror of the past.

Although, indeed, there are some paradoxes here, which even the first Russian historian N. M. Karamzin noticed. “A miracle happened. The town, hardly known before the XIV century, raised the head and saved the fatherland. The ancient chronicler would have stopped there, bowing his head before the incomprehensibility of God's Providence. But Karamzin was a man of the new time. The miracle as such did not suit him anymore. He wanted to find a rational explanation for it. That is why he was the first to create a learned myth about Kalita.

Based on sources, Karamzin defined Prince Ivan with the words that one ancient Russian author found for him - "The Collector of the Russian Land." However, this was clearly not enough, because all the Russian princes of that time collected land and power as best they could.

Then Karamzin offered additional explanations. Kalita was "cunning". By this cunning, he "earned the special mercy of Uzbek and, along with it, the dignity of the Grand Duke." With the help of the same “cunning”, Ivan “lulled into caresses” the Khan’s vigilance and convinced him, firstly, not to send his Baskaks to Rus' anymore, but to transfer the collection of tribute to the Russian princes, and secondly, to close his eyes to the annexation of many new territories to area of ​​the great princedom of Vladimir. Following the precepts of Kalita, his descendants gradually "gathered Rus'." As a result, the power of Moscow, which allowed it to gain independence from the Tatars at the end of the 15th century, is “a force brought up by cunning.”

Another classic of Russian historiography, S. M. Solovyov, in contrast to Karamzin, was very reserved in his descriptions of historical figures in general and Ivan Kalita in particular. He only repeated the definition of Prince Ivan found by Karamzin as "the Collector of the Russian land" and noted, following the annals, that Kalita "delivered the Russian land from the thieves."
Some new thoughts about Kalita were expressed by N. I. Kostomarov in his well-known work "Russian history in the biographies of its main figures." He noted the unusually strong friendship between Yuri and Ivan Danilovich for the princes of that time, and said about Kalita himself: “The eighteen years of his reign were the era of the first lasting strengthening of Moscow and its rise above the Russian lands.” At the same time, Kostomarov could not resist repeating the stereotype created by Karamzin: Kalita was "a man of non-belligerent character, although cunning."

The famous student of Solovyov, V. O. Klyuchevsky, was a great lover of historical paradoxes. In essence, the whole history of Russia seemed to them like a long chain of big and small paradoxes. “Conditions of life,” said Klyuchevsky, “often develop so capriciously that big people are exchanged for small things, like Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, and medium-sized people have to do big things, like the princes of Moscow.” This premise about "medium-sized people" predetermined his characterization of Kalita. According to Klyuchevsky, all Moscow princes, starting with Kalita, are cunning pragmatists who “diligently looked after the khan and made him an instrument of their plans».

So, to the portrait of the flatterer and cunning created by Karamzin, Klyuchevsky added a couple more dark strokes - hoarding and mediocrity. The resulting unattractive image due to his artistic expressiveness and psychological validity became widely known. It was imprinted in the memory of several generations of Russian people who studied according to the gymnasium history textbook of D. I. Ilovaisky.

The debunking and blaspheming of Ivan Kalita finally raised a legitimate question: could such a base person fulfill such a great historical task as the founding of the Muscovite state? The answer was twofold: either he was not the founder, or the image of Kalita created by historians is unreliable.

Nine-tenths of all the information that we have about Ivan Kalita is given by chronicles. These strange literary works, where there are only two characters - God and man, never ended. Each generation, with the hand of a scribe-monk, inscribed new pages in them. In the annals, opposite principles are surprisingly combined: the wisdom of the ages - and almost childish naivety; the crushing flow of the flow of time - and the invincibility of the fact; the insignificance of man in the face of Eternity - and his immeasurable greatness as "the image and likeness of God." At first glance, the chronicle is simple and unpretentious. The weather presentation of events in the form of short reports is sometimes interrupted by inserts - independent literary works, diplomatic documents, legal acts. But behind this external simplicity lies an abyss of contradictions. Firstly, the chronicler sees the events and depicts them "from his own bell tower": from the point of view of the interests and "truth" of his prince, his city, his monastery. Beneath this layer of unconscious distortion of the truth is another one: the distortions that arose during the compilation of new chronicles based on the old ones. Usually new chronicles (more precisely, chronicle "codes") were compiled on the occasion of some important events. The compiler of the new chronicle (the "svodchik") edited and arranged in his own way the content of several chronicles at his disposal, creating new text combinations. Therefore, the order of events in the text of an annalistic annual article does not always correspond to their real sequence. Finally, the chroniclers were always very brief in their reports, and when describing an event, they did not state its causes.

Summing up losses and problems, we note the main thing: our knowledge about Ivan Kalita and his time is fragmentary and fragmentary. His portrait is like an ancient fresco, wounded by time and hidden under a thick layer of late oil painting. The path of knowing Ivan Kalita is the path of painstaking restoration. But at the same time it is also a way of self-knowledge. After all, we are dealing with the builder of the Moscow state, whose hand has forever left its mark on its facade.

Ivan Kalita cannot be assessed only from a negative point of view, because at the end of his life he took monastic vows and wrote a will, after analyzing which, one can draw a conclusion about the moral qualities of the ruler: humility, kindness. It was Kalita who became the founder of Moscow's "big politics", defined its principles, goals and means. He gave a political order to his sons - to preserve by any means that "great silence", under the cover of which there was a slow "gathering of Rus'" around Moscow. The two components of this "great silence" are peace with the Horde and peace with Lithuania.

In the annalistic report about the death of Prince Ivan, a sincere feeling of orphanhood breaks through the usual rhetoric of an obituary. “... And on the square near the temple crowded the weeping, frightened Moscow people, who had lost their protector and leader.”