Historiographical analysis of virgin lands everyday history problems

Everyday history as a relatively new field of knowledge as compared with the traditional historyoffers innovative approaches to the analysis of historical reality: through the prism of perception of the ordinary man. This defines anew look on the problem of virgin lands development. But in order to develop a new system of research it is necessary to analyze literaturerelated to the history of virgin land. As a result, two historiographical stages were identified (Soviet and post-Soviet period) inwhich the systematization of the work was carried out on the following aspects: analysis of the virgin land development, lifestyle of thepeople, the problems of free time and living support, family and demographic characteristics. The feature of the first period is hardideologization of problems, creation of a smart picture of virgin land development. As a consequence, a narrow source base, only positivefindings and conclusions, lack of criticism and limited scope of problems are marked (N.I. Anisimov, G.A. Kuznetsov,A.K. Karaev, B. Lazarev, V. Telyakovskii, and others). Literature of the second half of the 1960s - late 1970s is characterized by a morechallenging approach to the study of living conditions in the virgin soil, analyticity increased; the material is extended by archival documentsand published statistics (M.L. Bogdenko, V.I. Kulikov, and others). The first summarizing work on the problem of the peasantsway of life was published, but it made a casual remark about virgin land (R.V. Ryvkina). It was only in 1990s that the interest to thisaspect appeared maintaining the analytical and generalizing tendencies (E.Y. Zubkova, I.E. Koznova, O.M. Verbitskaya). Similar generalisation,with rare exceptions (I.P. Mokerov, V.V. Sorokin), in these aspects is characteristic for the entire period studied (B. Urlanis,A.G. Kharchev, and others). The second phase of historiography is characterized by a new interest to the old problems. But the directstudy of virgin lands goes into the background and is mainly considered as an element of N.S. Khrushchevs agrarian policy(V.A. Danilov, I.E. Zelenin). At the regional level in these two time-periods the examined trends remained (series Heroes of the virginland by S.A. Smolyakov, and others). At present the range of problems became considerably wider: housing and cultural development,the role and importance of cinema and the tradition of folk art on virgin lands (V.A. Sidorov, B. Afrin, L.S. Panina). Special attention ispaid to the development of human resources problem of the South Ural virgin lands, the analysis of which is connected with the analysisof material and cultural living conditions of virgin soil (E.V. Pakhomova). In general, historiographical analysis showed that this subjectis considered casually or selectively.

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