Features of Russian historiography on the foreign campaign (1813-1814)

The subject of historiography on the foreign campaign of the Russian army of 1813-1814 was traditionally eclipsed by the heroic events of the previous year. The Russian historical science shows more interest in the historiographical research on the problems of the war of 1812. Works analyzing the campaign of 1813-1814 are few in number. The foreign campaign of 1813-1814 led to large changes in the European world order. For decades Russia became one of the leading European powers. The Napoleonic wars gave rise to many kinds of legends, served as the basis for the formation of the key Russian historical myths. Being closely related to historiography, historical myths began to form the state historical policy. Today, topics associated with the foreign campaign of the Russian army in 1813-1814, because of their importance for the Russian history, are relevant. In this regard, it is necessary to trace how the domestic historical science covered the event and what aspects of the 1813-1814 campaign receive more attention. The first time researchers addressed the historiography on the foreign campaign of the Russian army of 1813-1814 was during the celebration of the centennial of the Patriotic War. The monograph of S. Kartsov and K. Voensky Prichiny voyny 1812 goda [Causes of the War of 1812] and the article by V. Alexeyev "Otechestvennaya voyna v russkoy istoricheskoy literature" [Patriotic War in Russian Historical Literature] were first attempts of periodization and analysis of the historiography of the 19th century. During the Soviet period of the Russian historical science, there was no summary research on the foreign campaign of 1813-1814. The development of historiography of the 1812 era was influence by the political situation. During a long period, the work of historians was focused on the creation of a negative image of the enemy. They saw a prevailing reactionary significance in the foreign campaign. Moreover, the participation and the role of Alexander I were reduced to a minimum. The Russian army and the talented commanders won the war. Special attention was given to Kutuzov. However, researchers turned to the historiographical issues of the foreign campaign of 18131814 in the context of the history of the War of 1812 and foreign policy of Russia at the beginning of the 19th century. The works of L. Beskrovny, N. Troitsky, B. Abalikhin and V. Dunaevsky are representative in this respect. At the present stage, Russian historians turned to the experience of historiography of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as to the western historiographical tradition of studying the Napoleonic wars. The authors of a number of papers, not specifically devoted to the historiographical issues, feel the need to pay attention to the historiography of certain moments and aspects of the era of 1812. For the first time there began a discussion on the Napoleonic wars in regular scientific conferences devoted to the era of 1812. Despite the availability of a sufficient number of works, there is no coherent work on the historiography of the foreign campaign of the Russian army of 1813-1814.

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