Between pragmatism and scientific research: The works on Russian history by the members of Petersburg Academy of Sciences in the Second Quarter of the 18th Century

Abstract. The article analyzes the works by the first academicians of Ancient and Modern History of Russia, based on the materials of the archives of Petersburg Academy of Sciences and the scientific periodicals of the second quarter of the 18th Century. It reveals that the tradition of creating historical works of the topics related to current situation in the country dates back to Peter the Great, who encouraged the study of importent topics of Russian History, including for propaganda purposes. Like other initiatives of the tsar, turning to Russian history was of utilitarian nature, it implied his personal participation and included the use of foreign experience as well. The study of documentary and literature sources allows us to trace how the first Russian professional historians, members of Petersburg Academy of Sciences, coordinated the directions of their research with the interests of the state, following the example of the authors of the Peterine era. Thus, the combination of state utility and free scientific research had become a peculiarity of Russian academic historiography already in the years of its formation. At the same time, it was an intial period of gradual transition from understanding and describing the past just for applied purposes to its scientific research; as a result, socially oriented type of historical knowledge began to develop into scientifically oriented one.

Keywords: Russian history, Peter the Great, Petersburg Academy of Sciences, T.S. Bayer, G.F. Müller, J.A. Korff, Sammlung Rußischer Geschichte.