THE CROSSROADS OF THOUGHT. COMMEMORATING ALEXANDER A. ZIMIN

Abstract

The article is a kind of analytical reminiscence concerning Alexander A. Zimin, an outstanding historian whose sphere of research was medieval Rus’. The paper combines the elements of personal reminiscences with some features of historiographic narration concerning Zimin’s analysis of the Russian 15th century feudal wars in its contrast with official Soviet historical thinking during Zimin’s life. It deals with Zimin’s understanding of the relatively short period of Russian 15th century feudal wars as one of the crucial periods of the civilizational as well as social, civil and cultural history of this country. The author tries to reconstruct one of his last conversations with Alexander Zimin (summer 1978). According to prof. Zimin, the complicated collision of the two Russian socio-cultural archetypes – “landowners” and “peasants” – is one of the focal issues of Russian history as a whole. The paper pays special attention to A.A. Zimin’s half-hidden interpretation of the whole story of the Russian intelligentsia from the Pre-Petrine as well as Post-Petrine times up till now.