Between Schlozer and Shakespeare: On the Emergence of the Principles of Russian Historical Science in the First Third of the 19th Century

Abstract

The article examines the process of the origin and initial formation of the modern Russian tradition of historical science. The author shows the significance of the evolution of N. M. Karamzin as a historian, his connection with the scientific approach of A. L. Schlozer. Later, the historiographic tradition in Russia was laid by the creative tandem of A. S. Pushkin and M. P. Pogodin. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that the initial principles of Russian science were associated with German historiography of the last third of the 18th century, it was formed within the framework of the Göttingen school. The critical approach arose precisely then, it was laid in the foundation of historical source studies. Another pressing problem was the reconstruction of the picture of the past. As a result, Shakespearean dramaturgy was adopted as a basis.