"Novoe Proshloe/The New Past" (NP) is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes articles in Russian and English on history, cultural anthropology, philology and related fields of social and humanitarian knowledge, without regional and chronological limitations.
The journal is a platform for critical discussion of theoretical and empirical problems, as well as for analysis of modern methodological and methodical approaches to understanding the phenomenon of the past.
On the pages of the journal are published materials - articles, reviews and overviews, and sources, where the past is viewed as a subject of constant processing within the framework of academic and non-academic practices. Of particular interest, there are factors and mechanisms of "the past construction", as well as the context of this process. “Novoe Proshloe/The New Past” focuses on the social, cultural, cognitive, political and technological processes that influence the way individual and group consciousness reflex the past. The analysis of professional and non-professional historical consciousness in this sense is of equal value.
Although the epistemological and empirical significance of historical consciousness has been repeatedly emphasized in humanitarian studies on individual and group identity, as well as cultural, political and social groups at different levels, there is still a significant gap in theoretical reflection on historical consciousness and historical memory. In this regard, more attention is paid to the methodological and theoretical issues of understanding the phenomenon of the past on the tranches of the journal.
We strive to be interesting to our readers, staying within the framework of academic discourse. One of the immutable rules of еру journal is the actualization of research problems through recognizable and metaphorical titles of great books. The selection criterion for us is, on the one hand, the aphoristic and symbolic richness of the verbal image, on the other, the ideological depth and cultural-historical significance of the literary work itself, through the motives and images of which we problematize the theme of the issue. At the same time, it is not strongly required that these texts are to be “fine literature”: we proceed from the fact that high literary merits can be inherent not only in fiction, and not only novels excite the minds of many generations.
The Editorial Board accepts papers for publication in the following areas of research:
- Phenomenon of the past and identity;
- academic practices of representation of the past;
- mass historical representations in different epochs;
- symbols of the past and their role in the functioning of historical consciousness;
- historiographical schools and trends, and their characteristics;
- historical memory and historical oblivion, factors of their formation;
- politics of memory, tools and mechanisms for managing the past;
- collective trauma and its role in the reflection on the past;
- documents and archives, techniques of working with them;
- biographies and shaping of historical consciousness.
The journal publishes reviews and overviews devoted to various problems in Humanities. Copies of books for reviews are to be sent to the address:
Russian Federation, Rostov-on-Don, 344006
105/42 Bolshaya Sadovaya Street
"Novoe Proshloe/The New Past" Editorial Board
Institute of History and International Relations.
The scientific journal "Novoe Proshloe/The New Past" has been published since 2016. The founder and publisher of the journal is "Southern Federal University" (Legal address of the publisher: 344006, Russia, Rostov region, Rostov-on-Don, Bolshaya Sadovaya street, 105/42, http://sfedu.ru).
The frequency of the publication is four times a year in the form of thematic issues. The annual program for the next calendar year is published starting from the second issue of the current year.
The scientific journal “Novoe Proshloe/The New Past”:
«The Days of the Turbins» (1/2026)
Editors: Pavel G. Kultyshev, Andrey V. Venkov
Following our journal’s tradition to frame the themes of its issues through the motifs of great texts, the editors have chosen Mikhail Bulgakov's play "The Days of the Turbins", which celebrates its centenary in 2026. Its premiere became a turning point not only in the development of literature and theatre art but also in the entire history of interwar period in our country, marking a substantial change in the perception of the nation's recent past and, more broadly, all of its "pre-revolutionary" history. The public resonance of Bulgakov's play is eloquently illustrated by the fact that it was performed 987 times before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
The staging of "The Days of the Turbins" became a true challenge, presenting a completely different – until that moment strictly tabooed – side of the Russian Civil War. Here the defeated "Whites" were portrayed not as caricatured characters, but people with their own fears and mistakes, striving to preserve a fading past and to resist the impending changes. The issues raised by Mikhail Bulgakov in "The Days of the Turbins" remain relevant for understanding contemporary issues of identity and memory, especially given that modern Russian society is still far from not only a consensus on the perception of the events of the Civil War but also, more broadly, from "reconciliation" with its own past in a wider historical context.
The focus of this issue is on a wide range of problems inspired by the motifs of Bulgakov's play – the dialectic of continuity and discontinuity, of succession and the rupture of connections between eras during times of epochal change. How do the mechanisms of transmitting cultural experience transform when familiar social institutions collapse? In what ways are former values reinterpreted in conditions of systemic crisis? How and why does the rejection and tabooing of past historical experience occur, and for what reasons is partial or full rehabilitation of it undertaken after some time? Bulgakov's play provides food for thought on how family and close circles become the last bastion of stability – that very "safe harbor" where the characters attempt to maintain their usual way of life in the face of fateful historical changes. We invite authors to explore how universal this phenomenon is: in which other critical epochs did private spaces serve as a protective buffer against the chaos of the outside world?
Equally significant is the question of identifying "us" and "them" in the context of civil confrontation. The world of "The Days of the Turbins" demonstrates how fluid and conditional these boundaries are: yesterday's comrades turn into opponents, while recent enemies may become potential allies. The editorial board invites reflection on the self-identification processes during the Civil War and the reasons for the constant reconfiguration of its markers under the influence of circumstances, personal motives, and changing political conditions. How stable are the signs of group affiliation during periods of acute social conflict? What factors contribute to the blurring of boundaries or, on the contrary, the increasement of tensions between opposing sides?
A special place in this issue will be given to the problem of historical memory of the Civil War: how narratives about the events of 1917–1920 were formed and transformed within various social groups, and which mechanisms ensured the preservation or suppression of memories about the conflict. It is interesting to compare the artistic images of the play with historical evidence of the era. Where do they coincide, and where do they diverge – and why? How does a literary interpretation influence the collective perception of the historical past?
Finally, the editorial board invites discussion on the current state of historical science and public consciousness from the perspective suggested by the motifs of Bulgakov's play. What new sources and methodological approaches allow us today to rethink the events of the Russian Civil War? Why do the issues raised by Bulgakov remain relevant for understanding contemporary processes of identity and memory construction? We are convinced that a dialogue between artistic text and historical science opens new perspectives for comprehending the nature of social divisions and finding ways to overcome them.
"Provincial Sketches" (2/2026)
Editors: Maksim N. Krot, Alexander Yu. Bendin
The life of the Russian provinces found its reflection in the works of many Russian writers. Gogol, Leskov, Pisemsky, and Chekhov described it, although in different tones. Yet perhaps the most detailed study of life in Russian hinterland was conducted by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, according to Dmitry Pisarev, "the leader of our denunciatory literature", whose bicentenary will be celebrated in 2026. The work that serves the literary foundation of this issue, "Provincial Sketches", brought the aspiring writer fame and marked his emergence as a relentless political satirist. The first publication of the "Sketches…" in the pages of the "Russian Messenger" («Russkiy Vestnik»), which 170th anniversary will be celebrated next year, symbolized to a large extent the advent of a new era – the era of "Thaw" and “Glasnost’”, when many distortions and vices of Russian life not only became vividly illuminated but also were mercilessly castigated in the public sphere. Beyond the sharp critical nature of the “Sketches…”, its immense popularity among readers was also due to the widely noted effect of authenticity, a distinctively proclaimed “commitment to plausibility”. That helped the “Sketches…” to be perceived as accurate depictions of Russian society due to specific details and prompted readers to look for real-life prototypes of the characters portrayed in the sketches. At the same time, the similarity of the fictional Krutogorsk, where the sketches take place, to Vyatka, which Saltykov knew well, should not mislead the reader. While describing the scenes of the town, its simple way of life, administration, and economy, creating a gallery of portraits of its inhabitants and visitors, the writer sought to construct a comprehensive image of the Russian provinces, to depict it as an integral part of the unified Russian “whole”, which reflects and represents this “whole” in a specific way. This is precisely the aspect of the “Sketches…” that determines the range of questions addressed in this issue.
It is well known that the history of any state unfolds on two spatial levels. The first one, meticulously recorded in historical annals, occurs primarily on the capital’s level, under the bright lights of spotlights catching the close attention of contemporaries and future generations – both participants and outside observers. It is the dimension where the most dramatic events involving great historical figures take place. The second, which attracted much less interest, is the life of provinces, subtly similar across different eras and peoples, often characterized as "quiet, peaceful," and sometimes even "remote." Nevertheless, how vast is indeed the gap between these two levels? What is the dialectical interdependence of life in capital and life in provinces? What is the grade of their interconnection and mutual alienation? To what extent does the reality of provinces, depicted in Saltykov-Shchedrin's "Sketches…" as a whimsical mixture of the real and the illusory, reflect and embody of the Russian state and society as a whole? Equally significant are the questions of how life in provinces evolved during eras of upheaval and socio-political turmoil. How were major historical events refracted on a local dimension? What conditions made provinces fertile ground where initiative and a new reality rapidly flourished, or, in contrast, a swamp in which innovations hopelessly sank?
The editorial board invites authors and readers to reflect on these and other questions related to the phenomenon of Russian provincial life, which inspired many generations of Russian intellectuals with both fear of its dark and consuming depths and awe of its eternally dormant forces.
"Radetzky March" (3/2026)
Editors: Andrey V. Korenevskiy, Ashot A. Melkonian
The theme of this issue of "The New Past" was inspired by the novel of Joseph Roth, which, alongside the works of Stefan Zweig, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Gustav Meyrink, is traditionally associated with Finis Austriae – the era marking the decline of one of the most brilliant monarchies of the Modern Age. The novel’s plot metaphorically synchronizes two layers of events: the decline of the "imperial Slavs" family, Trotta von Sipolje, and the disintegration of the state that three generations of Trotta family faithfully served. The choice of the novel's title is also deeply symbolic referring to the march by Johann Strauss Sr., dedicated to a Czech aristocrat who became the most celebrated Austrian military commander. The multiple overt and hidden meanings, as well as the metaphorical structure of this novel, provide reason to reflect on issues that are the priority for our journal. On the one hand, the disappearance of a state of such scale from the historical stage falls within our interest in the issues of historical ruptures and cultural memory. Empires like the Austrian one undoubtedly serve as pivotal mnemonic actors in world history. By transforming chaos into order, they, as Arnold J. Toynbee once keenly observed, "win so powerful a hold on the affections and imaginations of their subjects that these cannot imagine living without them". Even if such former colossi are negatively assessed at the moment of their collapse, imperial nostalgia almost inevitably gains strength over generations. This brings us to another, no less important aspect of the journal's focus, reflected in its title: the continuous renewal of memory of the past and the knowledge about it, or at least what we perceive as such knowledge.
Finis Austriae represents an almost ideal model case for a comparative study of the entire spectrum of problems of Empire Studies in the broadest spatial and chronological context. We invite contributions addressing questions such as: are the decline and fall of empires fatal, or is their degree of adaptability significantly higher than generally assumed? How relevant is the analytical language applied to these political systems? The language, which is entirely composed of oppositions ranging from the contrast between "maritime" and "continental" empires, and empire itself versus the nation-state, to such clichéd antitheses as metropolis-colony and center-periphery. Today, when the phrase "imperial nation" no longer seems like an oxymoron, it may be time to reconsider other established oppositions as well. Moreover, it is appropriate to ask whether we are dealing with familiar, and therefore almost unnoticed, cognitive aberrations – those very "traps of dichotomies", in Otto G. Oexle's words, which tempt us with the simplicity of black-and-white thinking instead of a gradient of shades.
"From the outskirts to the center" (4/2026)
Editors: Evgeny V. Vdovchenkov, Svyatoslav V. Smirnov
At first glance, referring to Joseph Brodsky's poem to frame the theme of an issue dedicated to current problems in the history and archaeology of the ancient city may seem somewhat strange. However, this text, as well as the author’s consciousness, actually contains a deep historical substrate shaped by many millennia of urban culture and, first and foremost, of the ancient tradition. Although the poem was written by a poet of the Sixtiers about Leningrad in the final years of the "Thaw", two factors should be considered. Firstly, it is the significance of classical images and motifs in general for Brodsky's poetry and worldview. Secondly, the fact that both in content and style, through reference to the genre of elegy, the author engages in a dialogue with the classics of Russian literature (primarily Alexander Pushkin and Yevgeny Baratynsky), and thanks to them—with the poetic tradition of Greece and Rome, which gave rise to this genre and further nurtured it.
On the other hand, the vector of unfolding the elegiac chronotope chosen by Brodsky paradoxically resonates with the approaches used by historians and archaeologists in studying ancient cities. The poet immerses the reader in the space of his native city, mentally moving from the outskirts to the center, starting with the industrial-port area ("this locality of love, the peninsula of factories, paradise of workshops, haven of river steamers"). Likewise, an archaeologist usually begins exploring a city from its periphery – the suburbs (khors), country estates, fortifications, as well as widely scattered but reliable signs of its existence: coins, stamps on pottery, imported goods that have passed through its port. The solemn and magnificent center does not reveal itself immediately to the researcher’s eye. At times, it lies beneath later constructions (like ancient Chersonesus under Byzantine layers, or ancient Rome and Athens under modern buildings). At other times it is buried under ruins and remains indeterminable (as in Tanais). A historian studying ancient cities, mainly using written sources, likewise approaches the subject of their research from the perspective of an external observer rather than an insider, a native resident. For most ancient cities, its descriptions starting from the harbors and walls have been preserved by those for whom the city reveals itself.
The issue, which will be published in the year marking the 30th anniversary of Joseph Brodsky's death, emphasizes the relevance of the poet's work — along with the relevance for the historical sciences under the aegis of Clio. We invite contributions on a range of topics in historical urban studies, related to the issues of the center and periphery of urban space:
the city as a socio-cultural phenomenon – concepts and problems of terminology; theories of city origins;
the "spatial turn" and the ancient city – the concepts of "center" and "periphery" in the early 21st century;
topography of cities and urban necropoleis; the city and its surroundings – models of interaction;
sacred topography of the city;
urban institutions;
the private and the public in city life.
Each of special topics will cover no less 25% of the volume. Editorial Board hope on these topics as perspective for the journal progress. The journal enlargement is thought as mutual development together with our authors.
The main journal topics are (No)Doubt, Main Issue, Theory and Methodology, Articles, Discussions, Sources, Academic Chronicle.