Useful past. History in the Stalin USSR. Tikhonov V.

Control over the past in Stalin's times was one of the most important ways to manipulate public consciousness and mobilize the masses. Using historical allegories as an ideological tool, propaganda with their help explained the current political situation and created the so -called useful past - an inexhaustible resource to maintain the leader’s power.

The book of Vitaly Tikhonov explores the complex relations that were established between the Stalinist regime and historical science. The author talks about how Stalin read historical works, perceived history and intervened in the production of scientific knowledge, as well as the role of historical anniversaries and the cult of historical heroes in ideology. Considerable attention in the work is also given to a professional scientist who turned out to be hostages of the era - their place and role in historical policy. The book is designed to answer the questions of how this peculiar “historiographic vertical of power” was arranged and how ideological campaigns and discussions changed the conceptual appearance of Soviet historical science.

Vitaly Tikhonov - Doctor of Historical Sciences, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Specialist in Social History of Science, Institutional History and History of Historical Science of the 20th Century.