Historical science in Siberia and organization of Siberia studies during the Revolution, Civil War and first years of the Soviet power (1917 - middle 1920s)

In the crisis periods of socio-political transformation of the Russian society, the professional historical science, as any otherbranch of humanitarian knowledge, always appeared in a dual position. On the one hand, at this time new possibilities opened for itsfurther development, on the other hand, history as a specific humanity should constantly answer to calls of the new time. In the paper thequestion of features of development of professional historical researches, including those studying Siberia, on the territory of Westernand Eastern Siberia during the Revolution, the Civil War and the first years of the Soviet power is complexly considered for the firsttime. During the pre-revolutionary period the central and regional public authorities and the Siberian public undertook active attempts toorganize its own large centre of historical science in Siberia. So, departments of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society in Irkutskand Omsk were opened. During this period employees and professors of Imperial Tomsk University conducted historical and regionalSiberian studies by their own initiative. However, until the beginning of the Civil War all-Siberia coordination centres of historical sciencewere not established. Only in 1917-1918 in Tomsk and Irkutsk universities Departments of History and Philology were openedwith professional historians, whose function was coordination of the historical scientific life of Siberia. At the same time, by the decisionof the All-Russia government of Admiral A.V. Kolchak the Institute of Research of Siberia was organized, which was to becomethe coordinating centre of all scientific researches in Siberia, including regional studies. After the establishment of the Soviet power onthe territory of Siberia, the Institute of Research of Siberia and Departments of History and Philology of the Siberian universities wereclosed. The policy of the Bolsheviks in the first half of the 1920s put an end to attempts of the Siberian public to create an effective systemof their own large centre of Siberian historical science and coordination of regional studies. Siberian historians were alienated. It ledto losses of potential possibilities of Siberian researchers in carrying out of the general complex study of Siberia and other researches.Only after the war, with restoration of historical departments in Tomsk and Irkutsk universities (in 1960s Novosibirsk university joinedthem), the situation started to change. Universities began to gain significance as the centres of coordination of historical researches. Theresult of such activity and associated efforts of Siberian historians was publishing of some fundamental multivolume works in the1960s - 1980s, such as History of Siberia, History of Peasantry of Siberia and History of Working Class of Siberia.

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