XIII INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF HISTORIANS Moscow, August 16 - 23, 1970)

Academician A. Guber, Chairman, Organising Committee of the Congress

The growing interest in history and the general processes and regularities inherent in human society and also in individual events and whole periods from ancient times to the present epoch is a characteristic feature of our time. This is evidenced by a huge army of historians the world over and the actual publication of large quantities of historical books in all languages of the world. Numerous popular historical journals in various countries are intended for the layman. The public shows ever greater interest in memoirs and documentary publications. More and more historical novels appear in which the reader no longer strives to find the author's fantasies on historical themes but a fascinating reflection of real events and a well-grounded depiction of the activity and psychology of historical personalities. In works of the biographical genre the formal boundaries between fiction and genuine historical research tend to vanish. Most of the books in the popular series, "Life of Remarkable People", founded by Maxim Gorky in 1935 belong to this type of literature.

The mounting attention of the contemporary man to history is only natural. No matter how some representatives of Western historical science deny the law-governed development of human society and try to prove that history teaches nothing and explains nothing, the majority of the people in the world, even non-historians, do not believe this. It is precisely in periods of great and significant changes in the development of human society and in the destinies of individual countries that people usually display a growing interest in history and historical works. In an attempt to comprehend the causes and main trends of new social phenomena the reader at large spontaneously looks for the explanation of this or that event in the historical past. Unfortunately, however, historians in capitalist countries spend too much skilled labour to consolidate the old, to proclaim it eternal and essentially immutable but do not understand the new which will inevitably replace the obsolescent. And notwithstanding that, quite a few bourgeois scholars still deny the students of the contemporary epoch the right to be called historians, this does not prevent them from subordinating their historical concepts and interpretations to the most urgent political tasks of the day. It is in the face of the general crisis of the capitalist system that the latter's adherents spare no effort to historically substantiate the "eternity" of capitalism. The unprecedented scale of the class struggle today is used by some historians to reject and gloss over the class struggle in the past, although its decisive role in the historical process was already clear to the most outstanding bourgeois historians of the 19th century. The rapid growth of the national-liberation struggle which resulted in the breakdown of the colonial system and the revival of dozens of the previously oppressed countries as sovereign states gives rise to increased attempts to distort the history of colonialism with a view to proclaiming its "benefaction" to the Afro-Asian and Latin-American peoples still more shamelessly than before. The knights of conquest who were to a certain degree objectively depicted by bourgeois historians of the 18th and the 19th centuries and who were just as cruel and greedy as the founders of the Dutch and the British colonial empires are now being turned by some writers into humane vehicles of the progressive principles. But the historical facts, like any other facts, are rather stubborn. And if the professional historian is honest enough not to misrepresent the facts the latter are bound to come in conflict with his idealist concepts and conclusions.

Formerly, historical science was not yet in possession of such a wealth of factual material as it is today. In its essence and purpose history is called upon to be an exact science (which, as in any other science, does not exclude the possibility of errors and delusions and even deliberate distortions and falsifications). Not to recognise history as an exact science is equivalent to denying the scientific accuracy of astronomy on the basis that there was a time when astrology prevailed.

The unprecedented volume of information, the enormous progress achieved in studying the ancient past of mankind as a result of mass archaeological excavations in all parts of the world with the use of up-to-date methods, the discovery and publication of ever larger

quantities of the most diverse sources, including those which were previously ignored by historians, at this confromts the latter with the gigantic task of processing and understanding this torrent of new factual material. But it is this abundance and variety of sources that does not allow even the most erudite historian to become an encyclopaedist even within the limits of historical data contained in the Large Soviet Encyclopaedia, the French Encyclopaedia, the Encyclopaedia Britannica or the Soviet Historical Encyclopaedia. The time of the Encyclopaedists has gone never to return. It is not so easy to master and regularly follow the sources and literature on the individual, relatively limited periods of world history or the history of individual countries and peoples. That is why in historical science, like in any other sciences, the process of differentiation is inavoidable. There arise trends which are more clear-cut, not only as regards historical periods and social formations, but also in respect to separate problems and fields. As a result, symposiums, conferences and congresses of historians specialising predominantly in some particular field (ancient times, the Middle Ages, modern and contemporary history) acquire increasing popularity on a national and international scale. Frequently these gatherings assume even a much more specialised nature (meetings of historians specialising in the history of Byzantium, Slavonic studies, the Renaissance, agrarian relations, the working-class movement, the history of religion, military history and so on and so forth). Dozens of such scientific conferences are held annually.

The evolution of international congresses of historical sciences and the International Commitee of Historical Sciences has vividly demonstrated this inevitable process of specialisation. This also explains the fact that within the framework of the ICHS a considerable number of commissions and committees have sprung up which unite scholars concerned with particular fields of history. These commissions carry out their work and hold their meetings during international congresses and in the interim periods, elaborate research themes and programmes of their conferences and publish their results. Today the ICHS has nine internal commissions: bibliographical, the history of representative institutions, comparative church history, comparative military history, the history of the press, the history of cities, the history of universities, historical demography and iconography. Some of these commissions are turning into large independent international organisations. The Commission on Economic History, which was set Up on the initiative of Soviet historians, has undergone such an evolution. During the period when Soviet historians did not participate in the international organisations and congresses, the Commission ceased to exsist, but after the Second World War it has re-emerged with the participation of Soviet scholars and soon became an independent International Association on Economic History.

At the same time, the role of the ICHS as the main organising centre on history has on the whole resulted in that many independent international organisations in the field of history are now affiliated with it. Today the ICHS has 13 affiliated organisations which along with the National Committees of member countries are represented in the General Assembly, - the ICHS supreme body. Affiliated with the ICHS are: the International Association on the Study of Byzantium, the International Commission on Slavonic studies, the International Commission on Onomastics, the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History, the International Union of Institutes of Archaeology, History and the History of the Arts in Rome, the International Federation of Societies and Institutes on the Study of the Renaissance, the International Commission on Numismatics, the International Association on the History of Law and Institution, the International Commission on Social Movements and Social Structures, the International Commission on Maritime History, the International Association on the Study of South-Eastern Europe (the Balkan Commission), the International Commission on the History of the Second World War and the International Association on Economic History.

We have deliberately listed all the internal and affiliated commissions and organisations of the ICHS not only because they vividly illustrate the process of differentiation and specialisation in historical science, on the one hand, and the realisation of the need for contacts between the various branches of history, on the other. We believe that they cannot but attract the attention of Soviet historians. Many of these commissions are carrying out extensive scientific work and regularly convene scientific conferences and symposiums, some of which are held annually.

Soviet scholars are engaged in a number of these commissions and take part in their management. It should be admitted, however, that our participation in these activities is far from sufficient.

Usually in the course of international congresses of historians nearly all these commissions hold their administrative and scientific meetings according to their own programmes. During the XIII Congress which is to be held in Moscow in August 1970, many such conferences will take place and Soviet historians will have a chance to participate in their work and to establish closer contacts with their colleagues on various historical disciplines.

Particularly active is the work carried out in the intervals between congresses by the Commission on Social Movements and Social Structures and the Commission on the History of the Second World War which originally emerged as the Commission on the History of the Resistance Movement. Both these organisations are concerned with very topical problems. The Commission on Social Movements and Social Structures, for instance, between the Rome (1955) and the Stockholm (1961) Congresses, dealt with problems of the working-

class and labour movement and also prepared and published an international bibliography on the First International with the active participation of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism at the CPSU Central Committee. Between the Stockholm and the Vienna (1965) Congresses the Commission worked on problems of the national-liberation movement, while between the Vienna and the forthcoming Moscow Congresses it has been chiefly preoccupied with the agrarian question and peasant movements in the 19th and the early 20th centuries. During the previous congresses the sittings of these commissions were attended by a great number of participants; very often they were more numerous than some of the meetings held by the sections of the congress itself. This circumstance and the urgency of the problems under study in the commissions have impelled the ICHS to include the reports of these two commissions in the general programme of the Moscow Congress, with a special day being devoted for the purpose.

Special mention should be made of the Association on Economic History. Its activity is indicative of the great importance which historians in all countries attach to questions of economic history and also of the need for a thorough study of the economic basis of historical processes. Founded in 1958, the Association started by launching a wide programme of work and now enjoys support in many countries. Since it was set up the Association has held four international congresses on economic history with an ever greater number of participants. We can only welcome this very symptomatic success of the organisation. It is a pity, however, that the Association on Economic History is somewhat divorced from the ICHS whose affiliated member it is; this was manifested, in particular, in the years of international congresses of historical sciences. The separatist tendency of the Association manifested itself during the Vienna Congress in 1965 when it convened its own congress in Munich. This undoubtedly hampered the participation of other historians in the Congress on History of Economics and, in turn, made it difficult for historians of economics to attend the Vienna Congress of Historical Sciences. It is hardly necessary to prove the need for close cooperation and ties between specialists in history of economics and historians working in the field of political history, international relations, the history of culture and so on.

In 1970, the V Congress on History of Economics, like the XIII International Congress of Historical Sciences, will be held in the Soviet Union. It will assemble in Leningrad one week before the Moscow Congress. This will enable Soviet and foreign historians concerned to take part in both congresses, thus strengthening ties between historians working in different fields.

The growing amount of work carried out by specialised congresses and conferences and the steady increase in the number of participants are used by some as evidence that general international congresses have outlived themselves. It is often said that with the present volume of historical knowledge and differentiation in the science the main trend should be towards specialised congresses on individual problems. Many are of the opinion that general international congresses attended by thousands of historians have become "uncontrollable". Out of hundreds of those who would like to speak on the delivered reports only a few participants can be given the floor, while no time is left for the profound discussion of problems under consideration.

Critical remarks of this kind are true to a certain extent. We believe, however, that they concern mainly the organisational aspects of international congresses and in no way prove the uselessness of the congresses themselves. Clearly, the wider the specialisation of historians according to individual periods and problems and the more profoundly and comprehensively they are investigated, the more important becomes the task of genuinely scientific generalisation of the material accumulated. As in all sciences at the present stage of their development, many significant problems can be revealed and solved precisely at the cross-roads of various branches by the combined efforts of scientists specialising in different fields. This is especially true as regards to such major general problems as the periodisation of the world historical process of the development of mankind, general regularities and peculiarities of socio-economic formations and their change in various countries and continents, problems of methodology and methods of historical research.

The realisation of all this leads, in particular, to the emphatic rejection (often in words, it is true) of the traditional "Europocentrism" of historians, i. e., the attempts to build up the history of mankind by proceeding from only the biggest European countries.

Today nobody ventures to assert any longer that it is possible to study general history as a single process, ignoring its course in Asia and Africa and without regarding the peoples of these continents as an important factor in the general historical development of mankind. A reflection of the scientific approach to the study of world history is also observable in the changing nature of the International Committee of Historical Sciences which prior to the Second World War was almost entirely European and North American, as far as its composition and the themes of reports made at congresses were concerned. Today it includes the national committees of some countries in Asia (Japan, India, the Mongolian People's Republic and others) and Latin America. This process which has started after the Second World War is undoubtedly connected with the revival of former colonies as sovereign states and the rapid development of national historical science in many of them. It should be noted, however, that this natural process of expansion of the ICHS composition and the tendency to turn it into a genuine international organisation of historians at first met with resistance. Some Western historians were of the opinion that

the history of the Afro-Asian countries and peoples should be the province of the orientalists and their international association. Today no such voices are heard any more and we can hope with confidence that the number of the ICHS members will be increased by inviting the national committees of Afro-Asian and Latin-American countries. The historians of these countries should make their contribution to the study of world history and its main processes.

For general international congresses to remain a really essential and meaningful factor in tne development of historical science it is necessary for them to concentrate their attention -on the most important problems which are of interest to historians working in different fields. The procedure adopted by the ICHS for organising international congresses opens up all possibilities for this purpose. The ICHS has long since abandoned the practice which is applied in organising other congresses on the humanities (oriental studies, anthropology, ethnography and so on) and according to which the country where a congress is held is responsible for its arrangement. Naturally, the sponsor country may not appropriate the right to unilaterally select these or those reports from the hundreds proposed by scientists from various countries. This would inevitably entail not only resentment on the part of individual scholars, but also conflicts with countries whose proposals are not placed in the programme. As a result, the sponsor country is turned into a kind of registrar obliged to accept and include in the programme literally every application, even if it is of tne least scientific value and interest to the bulk of participants in the congress. In consequence of all this at the recent congresses of orientalists and ethnographers, for instance, the number of reports ran into hundreds and then even exceeded a thousand. With such a multitude of minor topics, with no time for their discussion, no profound consideration and solution of major scientific problems is possible.

An entirely new procedure has been adopted for arranging congresses of historical sciences. It is primarily the leading body of the ICHS, its Bureau, and the General Assembly as its supreme body that enjoy the right to limit the total number of reports to be delivered at an international congress. The concrete reports are selected by the leading body of this international organisation from among the applications made by all national committees, who while drawing up their own lists of proposed reports eliminate those which are not so interesting and rather narrow in content.

But even with this procedure being followed it was difficult to avoid the extreme diversity of themes and to select from the total number of reports the most important ones so as to concentrate the attention of the participants on their discussion. When the reports were grouped by the principle of four sections (methodology, ancient history, the history of the Middle Ages, modern and contemporary history) no leading reports were singled out, while the simultaneous and parallel work of all sections made it difficult for specialists in individual periods to participate in the discussion of reports delivered in other sections. The programmes of the first postwar international congresses held in Paris, Rome and Stockholm were arranged in a similar way.

Analysing the shortcomings in the work of organising congresses and the criticism of the multiplicity of themes by many national committees, including the Soviet Committee, the ICHS, when preparing for the Vienna Congress, singled out six major themes, one for each day of the Congress. Combined reports consisting of separate parts written by scholars from different countries were made on these major themes. At the same time, sections working according to the chronological principle, were retained and a new one, that of the History of Continents, was set up for the first time as a token of cognisance of the growing interest in the history of Afro-Asian and Latin-American countries. Moreover, the sittings of all commissions and organisations were included in the general programme of the Congress.

This first experiment with the selection of major themes proved to be imperfect. The number of themes was too great and the selection of this or that theme as a major one was not always justified. Practically it was impossible to combine in one report the parts written by scholars having different opinions and often even adhering to opposite ideological and methodological positions. Besides, parallel meetings held by sections and commissions also made it difficult for the participants to concentrate on the leading problems. That is why in discussing the results of the XII Congress in Vienna, some if the delegations suggested a return to the old system of distributing reports among the chronological sections without indicating any major themes. The majority, however, while criticising individual shortcomings, insisted on the further improvement of the work of organising international congresses by selecting the most important problems of general interest.

The latter poin of view was accepted in the main for the preparation of the XIII International Congress of Historical Sciences to be held in Moscow. In accepting this viewpoint, the Bureau of the ICHS and the General Assembly tried to avoid the repetition of the shortcomings referred to above and, what is especially significant, to concentrate still further on reports of the most general interest.¹ It was decided to reduce the total number of reports to be delivered at the Congress to 85 - 90 and to single out only two themes as the major ones, with the whole first day of the Congress (Monday, August 17, 1970) being assigned for them. All the other sections will not work on this day.

¹ For the programme of the Congress see the present issue, pp. 216 - 221.

In choosing these two major themes the Bureau proceeded from the problems to which the national committees paid the greatest attention in their applications and which are of interest to historians in all countries. Among them is undoubtedly the problem of the relationship of history with other social sciences. It is no mere chance that it has found expression in the proposals of both socialist and capitalist countries. That is why "The Historian and Social Sciences" has been selected as the first major methodological theme. It is made up of seven independent reports by various historians, dealing with different aspects (difference of method of historical and social science, method of social sciences in historical investigation, the role of historical cognition in the formation of social consciousness and others). Each speaker makes an independent report.

The other major theme in the section "The History of Continents" is defined as "Nationalism and the Class Struggle in the Process of Modernisation in Asia and Africa". Its choice is also in line with numerous applications reflecting problems of the liberation struggle in Asia and Africa. This theme is likewise made up of seven independent reports. As we have already mentioned, the first day of the Congress will be devoted to these two major themes to be discussed simultaneously. The chronological sections will start working on the second day, with the sections of methodological problems and the History of Continents continuing their work no longer connected with the major themes.

Although the chronological sections will work in the course of tour days, an attempt has been made to ease participation in the discussion of the most important and general problems related to each historical period. For this purpose the theme which is defined as the main one for the section of ancient history is planned for Tuesday, August 18; the main theme for the section of the history of the Middle Ages is put for Wednesday, August 19; that for the section of modern history is arranged for Thursday, August 20; and the one for the section of contemporary history - for Friday, August 21. On those days the other chronological sections will hear "minor" themes, chiefly intended for specialists in individual historical periods.

For the first time, an attempts has been made not only to provide more time for discussion but also to raise the scientific level of discussion as far as possible. At previous congresses statements were often heard which made little contribution to a scientific dispute or the solution of a problem, which was in large measure due to the fact that the texts of the reports became known to the delegates just a few days before or even after their arrival to the congress. This, of course, hindered preparation for discussion by preventing one from gathering convincing arguments. Sometimes the insufficient competence of the speaker was felt. It goes without saying, that at international congresses every participant has the right to speak in his own turn and during the time available. However, as a result such drawn-out and loquacious introductions left little time for discussion and many of the most prominent specialists could not speak. To avoid such cases it has been decided for the XIII Congress that all reports should be submitted to the Soviet Organising Committee by January 1, 1970, while the Soviet Committee has agreed to multiply them and send them out to the participants not later than May.

Thus, the participants will have more than three months for studying the reports and preparing for discussion. Naturally it will no longer be necessary to read out the papers or introductions and the delegates will be able to start discussion immediately. For the major themes and major reports to be discussed on a high scientific level, in the first half of the day assigned for them the discussion in the sections will be held by the speakers and also the experts chosen by the ICHS Bureau for the given problems. The experts have been selected from among the persons proposed by the national committees which are better than anyone else acquainted with their most erudite experts in the problems under discussion. The speakers and experts whose total number should not exceed 10 - 12 people will have enough time for a genuine dispute and the discussion of the problem. The second half of the day will be intended for discussion in accordance with the applications made by all those who desire to speak. As for all the other reports, the former procedure for discussion will be maintained, without selecting experts.

The last day of the Congress will be assigned for the reports of the Commission on Social Movements and Social Structures and the Commission on the History of the Second World War which will sit simultaneously.

It is to be supposed that this way of implementing the main programme of the Congress will serve to raise its scientific effectiveness and will help to organise discussions on a more profound basis.

One should bear in mind, however, that the total range of scientific measures connected with the Congress is much wider than its main programme. As we have already pointed out, any of the international commissions or associations may hold not only administrative sittings during the Congress - they usually do not require much time - but also scientific symposiums and meetings. The commissions are autonomous in planning their work during the Congress. Far from all of them have as yet made their plans known to the Organising Committee. They should submit their applications and working programmes so that the latter could be published in the 3rd, and last, Circular of the XIII Congress. It will contain the time-table of its entire proceedings, indicating the days, hours and room of the sittings, the names of the speakers, chairmen and vice-chairmen for all sittings, and the names of the experts in major themes and major reports.

In addition to the main programmes of congresses and their commissions, special symposiums are held during international congresses, which have no relation to the organisations included in the ICHS. At previous congresses such symposiums were dedicated to the history of the Great French Revolution, Babeuf and the Resistance Movement.

The XIII Congress in Moscow is to be held in the year when all the progressive forces of the world will celebrate the centenary of Lenin's birth and when, by the decision of the UNESCO, special international conferences dedicated to Lenin will be organised.

This event will also find reflection in the XIII International Congress of Historical Sciences. On August 16, at the opening ceremony in the Palace of Congresses in the Kremlin, Academician Y. M. Zhukov will deliver the report, "Lenin and History". During the Congress a special symposium dedicated to Lenin will be held. It is the duty of Soviet historians to prepare for proper participation in this event.

The wide range of scientific measures envisaged by the XIII Congress confronts the Soviet historians with enormous tasks, and the very fact that the Congress will take place in Moscow provides favourable conditions for their fulfilment in the best way possible.

As distinct from international congresses held abroad, in which a more or less limited number of Soviet scholars can take part, the Moscow Congress will represent a forum in which all outstanding representatives of Soviet historical science will be able to participate.

Being in possession of all the reports for several months in advance, our scholars will be able to prepare all the necessary scientific arguments for their statements in the discussions and scientific disputes. And the experience of previous international congresses on social sciences shows that the academic spirit of international cooperation in no way excludes most heated disputes on questions of principle. And it cannot be otherwise, for the principled Marxist-Leninist positions are incompatible with idealist methodology. Marxist-Leninist historical science can wage an attack upon hostile ideological positions and achieve success only when armed with professional knowledge of the entire contemporary historical material. There is not much time left before the opening of the Congress. And it should be fully used for the thorough and critical analysis of the latest literature on the subject and modern trends in historical thought abroad, above all within the range of the problems to be discussed at the Congress.

. As can be easily seen from the programme of the Congress, the historians of the Soviet Union and the other socialist countries are well represented among the speakers of the Congress. A considerable number of them have been chosen as chairmen and vice-chairmen and also as experts in major themes. Our task is not only to see to it that our reports are prepared on the highest ideological level and based on the achievements of modern science. It is important, moreover, that our voice at the Congress should carry scientific conviction.

The historians of Moscow, Leningrad, the Union republics and of our academies and major universities make up a strong army of scholars. In all the republics of the Soviet Union historical science is flourishing. We should like the thousands of foreign participants in the Congress to gain a better knowledge of the achievements of Soviet historical science. The fact that readers abroad have an insufficient command of the Russian and other languages spoken in the Soviet Union and that only a small number of monographs by Soviet historians is published in the country in foreign languages makes it difficult for the wide historical circles abroad to get acquainted with our works.

By the time of the XIII Congress the USSR Academy of Sciences will have published a special book - a review of Soviet historical science by branches for the period between the XII and the XIII Congresses. The book will be published in French and English. Many of the Union republics are likewise preparing detailed reviews of their achievements in the field of history in foreign languages, translations of some of the historical monographs will have also been published by then. Moreover, it is important that the voice of prominent historians from the republican academies of sciences and universities should be heard at the Congress. For the first time in the history of international congresses of historical sciences the Moscow Congress will have facilities for simultaneous translation into Russian, French and English. Thus, the delegates will meet with no language difficulties in their work.

Not less than 4,000 historians from many Western and Eastern countries are expected to take part in the Congress. That is why one should bear in mind that the number of speakers from each country, the host-country above all, will have to be limited. It is therefore necessary for all our organisations, institutes and collectives specialising in history to nominate the most prominent experts in the problems to be discussed at the Congress. There should be no fortuitous and colourless statements. The Soviet Organising Committee of the Moscow Congress is very representative. It includes historians from our Union republics, research institutions and universities. Let us hope that with the joint efforts of all Soviet historians we shall be able to prepare for and hold the XIII International Congress of Historical Sciences in Moscow befittingly from both the organisational and the scientific point of _ view.

XIII INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF HISTORICAL SCIENCES

INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF HISTORICAL SCIENCES (ICHS)

CIRCULAR No. 2

Organising Committee of the XIII International Congress of Historical Sciences. Address of the Organising Committee of the XIII International Congress of Historical Sciences: 19, Dmitri Ulyanov Street, Moscow V-36, USSR.

GENERAL

XIII International Congress of Historical Sciences will be held in Moscow, USSR, August 16 - 23, 1970.

The Congress is sponsored by the International Committee of Historical Sciences and the National Cimmittee of Historians of the Soviet Union.

The Congress is held under the auspices of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

The address of the Organising Committee of the Congress is: 19, Dmitri Ulyanov Street, Moscow V-36, USSR.

THE BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF HISTORICAL SCIENCES

President: P. HARSIN (Belgium); Vice-Presidents: A. GUBER (USSR), SHAFER (USA); General Secretary: M. FRANCOIS (France); Treasurer: J. CH. BIAUDET (Switzerland); Members of the Bureau: F. ENGEL-JANOSI (Austria), A. GIEYSZTOR (Poland), E. JAKOB (Great BRITAIN), R. MORGHEN (Italy), J. TADIC (Yugoslavia), K. TAKA-HASHI (Japan).

THE ORGANISING COMMITTEE OF THE CONGRESS

Chairman: Academician A.A. GUBER; Deputy Chairmen: Academician B.A. RYBAKOV, Academician S.D. SKAZKIN, Academician L.M. KHVOSTOV, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences S.L. TIKHVINSKY, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences V.G. TRUKHANOVSKY; General Secretary: Doctor of Historical Sciences A. S. PROTOPOPOV; Treasurer: Candidate of Historical Sciences U.D. KOMAROV; Members of the Bureau: Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Y.V. BROMLEY, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences V.A. VINOGRADOV, Academician B.G. GAFUROV, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Y.S. GROSUL, Doctor of Historical Sciences I.I. ZHIGALOV, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences P.A. ZHILIN. Doctor of Historical Sciences V.Y. ZEVIN, Candidate of Historical Sciences R.M. ILYUKHINA, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences К. К. KARAKEYEV, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences D.M. KUKJN, Candidate of Historical Sciences V.A. KUMANEV, Academician I.I. MINTS, Academician P. N. POSPELOV, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences A.M. SAMSONOV, Academician of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences A.D. SKABA, Candidate of Historical Sciences N.N. SOFINSKY, G.G. CHAKHMAKHCHEV, Candidate of Historical Sciences A. O. CHUBARYAN.

Place of the Congress

Opening and closing sessions will be held in the Kremlin Palace of Congress. Plenary session will be held in the Moscow State University (Lenin Hills).

Schedule of the Congress

Sunday, August 16.4 p.m. - opening ceremony of the Congress; 7 p.m. - concert.

Monday, August 17. 9.30 a.m. - 1 p.m.; 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. (major topics, experts invited).

Tuesday, August 18. 9.30 a.m. -. 1 p.m.; 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. (section meetings; major topics).

Wednesday, August 19. 9.30 a.m. - 1 p.m.; 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. (section meetings).

Thursday, August 20. 9.30. a.m. - 1 p.m.; 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. (section meetings).

Friday, August 21. 9.30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. (section meetings).

Saturday, August 22.9.30. a.m-1 p.m.; 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. (meetings of two Commissions included in agenda of the Congress). Sunday, August 23. 3 p.m. - Final meeting.

LIST OF MAJOR TOPICS, LARGE REPORTS AND REPORTS

1. MAJOR TOPICS

(Monday, August 17; Tuesday, August 18)

FIRST MAJOR TOPIC, EXPERTS INVITED.

METHODOLOGY. THE HISTORIAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES.

1. Unterschiede der historischen und der sozialwissenschaftlichen Methode (Th. Schieder, Gologne).

2. La methode des sciences sociales dans la recherche historique (Th. Papadopoulos, Cyprus).

3. The relationschip of history to the social sciences, including the quantitative method (J. Hexter, Yale).

4. L'histoire au carrefour des sciences humaines (J. Hamelin, Montreal).

5. Le role des connaissances historiques formatrices de la conscience sociale (L. Elekes, Hungary).

6. Langage et histoire (A. Dupront, Paris).

7. Storia degli avvenimenti e storia delle strutture (E. Sestan, Florence),

REPORTS

A. Figures as the Elements of the Information of Historian.

1. L'elaboration automatique de l'information au service de la science historique (I.D. Kovaltchenko, D. A. Diopik, V.A. Ustinov, Moscow; G.M. Dobrov, Kiev; J. Kahk, Kh. Palli, Tallin).

2. La machine et la recherche historique (J. Scheider, Nancy".

3. L'emploi des methodes quantitatives dans l'etude des mouvements populaires et sociaux des XIXe et XXe siecles (C. G. Andrae, Upsalla; S. Lundkvist, Stockholm).

B. The Role and Place of Biography in History.

1. Biographie und Geschichtswissenschaft (H. L. Mikoletzky, H. Lutz, F. Engel-Janosi, Vienna).

2. Biography as historical study (A. Wilson, Trent Univ, Peterborough).

3. Biographie und Autobiographie; das Problem von Quelle und Darstellung (W. Hubatsch, Bonn).

4. L historien et l'interview (L. de Jons, Amsterdam).

SECOND MAJOR TOPIC, EXPERTS INVITED. THE HISTORY OF CONTINENTS

Nationalism and the Class Struggle in the Process of Modernisation in Asia and Afrika.

1. Nationalism and the class struggle (J.M. Londsdale, Cambridge).

2. Nationalisme et lutte des classes dans le processus de modernisation de l'Extre-me-Orient (Seiji Imabori, Hiroshima).

3. Des changements qualitatifs dans le developpement des etats asiatiques apres la deuxieme guerre mondiale (A. Palat, Prague).

4. Das Entstehen moderner Eliten in Afrika seit der Mitte des 18. Jh. (I. Geises, Bonn).

5. Afrikanische Staaten unter dem Druck der europaischen Kolonisation und Dekolonisation (F. Ansprenger, Westberlin).

6. Wege und Formen der Staatsbildung in Afrika und Asien seit dem 2. Weltkrieg (W. Markov, Leipzig).

7. Slave emancipations. A comparative study (C. Vann Woodward, Yale).

REPORTS

A. The Place of Latin America in the World Historical Process in the XIX and XX Centuries

1. Ursprunge und Probleme lateinamerikanischer Guerillabewegungen im 19. Jh. (G. Kahle, Cologne).

2. L'Amerique latine et le processus historique mondiale aux XIXe et XXe siecles (A. N. Glinkin, Moscow).

B. The Challenge of Frontier Lands in the History of Continents

1. The challenge of Frontier Lands in the history of continents (R. Cook, York Univ. Toronto).

II. ANCIENT HISTORY

1. LARGE REPORTS WITH EXPERTS (Tuesday, August 18)

The Problems of Balance of Power in the Countries of Mediterranean

1. II problema dell'equilibrio politico greco nel mondo mediterraneo (P, Treves, Florence).

2. La colonisation grecque en Occident (G. Vallet, Paris).

3. La citoyennete romaine (W. Seston, Paris).

2. REPORTS

(August 19, 20, 21)

I. La stratification sociale des societes antiques, dynamisme et tendance (S. L. Utchenko, Moscow; I. M. Dyakonov, Leningrad).

2. Problemas sociales del urbanismo en el area mediterranea durante la Edad Antigua (A. Carcia у Bellido, Madrid).

3. Gedanken iiber gesellschaftlichen Fortschritt im Altertum (L. Welskopf, DDR, Berlin).

4. Die Fortwirtschaft wahrend der Antike (O. Makkonen, Finnland).

5. Formation et developpement de la romanite orientale dans l'Empire romain (Em. Condurachi et J. Stefan).

6. Le monde antique et l'Orient (V. B. Blavatsky, Moscow).

7. Conflict and continuity in the ancient Near East (T.R.S. Broughton, North Carolina).

8. Les civilisations italiques (J. Heurgon, Paris).

9. Le monde "barbare" et la fin du monde antique (I. Nestor, Bucarest).

10. Political structure of the ancient nomadic state in Mongolia (Masao Mori, Tokyo).

II. II mutamento delle idee sull' "antichita" nell'Ottocento (S. Mazzarino, Rome).

III. MIDDLE AGES

1. LARGE REPORTS WITH EXPERTS (Wednesday, August 19)

Feudalism as a Historical Phenomenon, as a Social Phenomenon and as a Method of Production

1. Les problemes de la genese du feodalisme dans les pays europeens (Z. V. Udaltsova, E.V. Gutnova, Moscow).

2. Problemes de la transition de l'Antiquite au feodalisme dans l'Europe du Sud-Est (D. Angelov, Bulgaria).

3. Il feudalesimo come struttura politica, giuridica della societa medievale, come modo di produzione, come tipo sociale (G. Arnaldi, Rome).

4. Les voies historiques du developpement de la feodalite et les variantes de la societe medievale (G. Szekely, Hungary).

5. Les rapports economiques et sociaux en Europe centrale et orientale dans le haut moyen age (H. Lowmianski, Poznan).

6. The dynamics of medieval society (S. Thrupp, Univ. of Michigan).

7. Special features of the Japanese feudalism (Hisato Matsuoka, Hiroshima).

2. REPORTS (August 18, 20, 21)

1. Sovereignty and its limitations in the Middle Ages (Gaines Post, Princeton).

2. Structures familiales dans le moyen age occidental (G. Duby, Ai-xen-Provence).

3. Les pauvres et la societe medievale (M. Mollat, France).

4. Causes de la diffusion tardive de l'idee du christianisme dans les pays baltes (U. M. Urginis, Vilnius).

5. Die Ostmissionen der abendlandischen und der griechischen Kirche im Mittelalter (F. Dvornik, Dumbarton Oaks) (Vatican).

6. Byzance et la Russie du Xle au XVe siecles: aspects politiques, religieux, economiques, culturels et artistiques (D. Obolensky, Oxford) [Association intern, des Etudes byzantines].

7. Le commerce en mer Noire des debuts de l'epoque byzantineau lendemain de la conquete de 1'Egypte par Ottomans (1517) (Ch. Verlinden, Ghent) [Commission intern. d'Histoire maritime].

8. L'economie des Balkans et la Mediterranee aux XVe-XVIe siecles (J. Tadic, Belgrade; N. Filipovic, Sarajevo).

9. Islam у Cristianidad en la economia mediterranea de la baja Edad Media (P.Martinez Montavez, Madrid).

IV. NEW HISTORY

1. LARGE REPORTS WITH EXPERTS (Thursday, August 20)

Problems of Europe in the 17th Century

1. Frankreich und der englische Verfassungskonflikt um die Mitte des XVII. Jh. (St. Skalweit, Bonn).

2. Phenomenes de crise politiques, sociaux, economiques et religieux pendant le XVIIe siecle (N. Steensgaard, Copenhagen).

3. Les problemes de la noblesse au XVIIe siecle, principalement en France (P. Goubert et J. Meyer, Reims).

4. La revolution sociale et srientifique du XVIIe siecle (J. Polisensky, Prague).

5. The secularisation of society in tre XVII century (W. J. Bouwsma, Berkeley).

6. L'Europe centrale au XVIIe siecle et ses principales tendances politiques (J. Gierowski, Cracow).

2. REPORTS (August 18, 19, 21)

1. II modernismo (A. Frugoni, R. Manselli, Rome).

2. Le developpement de l'esprit d'organisation et de la pensee methodique dans la mentalite occidentale a l'epoque de la Renaissance (J. Delumeau, Rennes).

3. Nobilta e amministrazione; formazione del ceto burocratico in Italia nell'eta del Rinascimento (M. Berengo, Milano; F. Diaz, Pisa).

4. Vom Untertan zum Mitbiirger, die Auflockerung des Obrigkeitsstaates vor der franzosischen Revolution (P. Renvall, Finnland).

5. Strutture agrarie dell'Occidente mediterraneo del XVI al XIX sec. (R. Romeo, Rome).

6. Silver circulation in East Asia in the XVI and XVII centuries (Atsushi Kobata, Kyoto).

7. Unite des Chretiens et unite de l'Europe dans la periode moderne (A. Dupront, Paris) [Vatican].

8. Eastern European conservatism in the XIX century (R. Pipes, Univ. of Harvard).

9. Probleme der turkisch, arabisch, persiaen Quellenpublikation der turkischen Geschichte (Baykal, Altundag, Erzi, Turkey).

10. A propos de la tendance generate de l'histoire des Etats-Unis d'Amerique (A. V. Yefimov, Moscow).

11. The gentry in the USA (S. Persons, Univ. of Iowa).

V. CONTEMPORARY HISTORY

1. LARGE REPORTS WITH EXPERTS

(Friday, August 21)

World in the Period Between Two World Wars

1. Strukturprobleme der Parlamentsdemokratie seit dem 1. Weltkrieg (D. Bracher, Bonn).

2. Begriff und Wirklichkeit der Demokratisierung: das Beispiel Deutschlands (W. Gonze, Heidelberg).

3. II movimento socialista in Europa dopo il 1914 (L. Valiani, Milan).

4. Le probleme de la securite collective entre les deux guerres mondiales (I. Oprea, E. Campus, Bucarest).

5. La problematique du fascisme dans la periode de l'entre deux guerre (Miklos Lasko, Budapest).

6. Le Christianisme social (chan. R. Aubert, Louvain) (Belgium, Vatican)*

2. REPORTS (August 18, 19, 20)

1. Mouvements ideologiques en Europe du Sud-Est au cours des XIXe-XXe siecles, jusqu'a la premiere guerre mondiale (H. Hristov, Bulgaria).

2. L'annee 1871, tournant de l'histoire universelle (J. Borejsza, Warsaw).

3. Les puissances europeennes et les Balkans au debut du XXe siecle, 1900 - 1914 (B. Pavicevic, Belgrade; D. Zografski, Skoplje).

4. Mouvements des classes moyennes en Europe et aux USA (V. Dybdahl, Aarhus).

5. La crise des mutineries aux divers fronts en 1916 - 1917 (R. de Schryver, Louvain).

6. Bilanz der Welt 1917 - 1918 (E. Diehl, DDR, Berlin).

7. Les traits essentiels de la "revolution culturelle" en URSS (M. P. Kim, Moscow).

8. Le changement dans la structure sociale de la population de l'URSS (J. A. Polyakov, Moscow).

9. The role of the state in U.S. economic life (F. Freidel, Univ. of Harvard).

10. Facteur jurdique et facteur administrative dans les transformations de l'etat moderne (B. Lesnodorski, Warsaw).

VI. INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF HISTORICAL SCIENCES AND COMISSIONS

(Saturday, August 22)

1. Mouvements paysans et problemes agraires de fin du XVIIIe siecle a nos jours (Commission d'Histoire des Mouvements sociaux et les structures sociales).

2. Les masses de travailleurs dans l'effort de guerre pendant le deuxieme conflit mondial (Comite international d'Histoire de la Deuxieme Guerre mondiale),

VII. PLENARY MEETINGS

1. OPENING (Sunday, August 16) -"Lenin and History" (Y. M. Zhukov, Moscow).

2. CLOSING (Sunday, August 23) "Art in the Middle Age Russia and the West" (V, N, Lazarev, Moscow).

LANGUAGES

- Working languages of the Congress are: English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish.

Papers, presented to the Congress in one of the working languages of the Congress, are multiplied and distributed by the National Committee of the Historians of the USSR.

- Speeches at the Congress are translated simultaneously into three languages: English, French, Russian.

- Papers of the internal and adjoining commissions, which are not included into agenda of the Congress, are not either multiplied or distributed by the Soviet Organising Committee.

- Speeches at the meetings of the commissions are not translated simultaneously.

REGISTRATION FEES

- The registration fee for the Congress members is 20 US dollars; for accompanying persons-10 US dollars, for students (in producing student sertificate) - 5 US dollars.

- Fees are to be sent to the Current Account No. 70102280, USSR Foreign Trade Bank, by May 1, 1970. The address of the USSR Foreign Trade Bank is: 12 Neglinnaya, Moscow, USSR.

- The registration fee will be accepted by the Bank in any convertible currency.

- Please, do not sent fees to the Organising Cimmittee of the Congress.

- Please, do not enclose cash or cheques in letters addressed to the Organising Committee of the Congress.

- Having mailed the fee, please, notify the Organising Committee of the Congress by returning the enclosed Form A.

ARRIVAL, ACCOMODATION AND SERVICES

The Organising Committee of the XIII Congress and VAO Inturist offer the following conditions and prices for participants of the Congress and accompanying persons (all prices are per person per day).

1. CATEGORY "A" (first class). Single room with bath: 19.00 roubles. Double room with bath: 15.00 roubles.

2. CATEGORY "B" (tourist class). Single room without bath: 14.00 roubles. Double room without bath: 10.00 roubles.

POST-CONGRESS TOURS.

After the closing of the Congress, from the August 24, Introurist offers to Congress participants and accompanying persons the following post-Congress tours.

Tour No. 1: Moscow - Kalinin - Novgorod - Leningrad (4 days, price: 54 roubles); Tour No. 2: Moscow-Leningrad (3 days, price: 50 roubles); Tour No. 3: Moscow - Vladimir - Suzdal - Moscow (4 days, price: 52 roubles); Tour No. 4: Moscow - Petrozavodsk-Kizhy-Petrozavodsk-Leningrad (4 days, price: 80 roubles); Tour No 5: Moscow - Samarkand - Bukhara - Tashkent - Moscow (6 days, price: 162 roubles); Tour No. 6: Moscow-Yerevan-Tbilisi-Sukhumi-Moscow (8 days, price: 152 roubles): Tour No 7: Moscow-Irkutsk-Baikal-Irkutsk-Moscow (6 days, price: 198 roubles); Tour No 8: Moscow-Riga-Tallinn-Pskov-Kalinin-Moscow (6 days, price: 135 roubles); Tour No. 9: Moscow - Kiev - Moscow (4 days, price: 77 roubles).

Post-Congress tour comes into force on August 24, p.m. The post-Congress tour should be bought at the same time as the main Congress tour to Moscow, i. e., at one of the Tourist Agencies, which are foreign contractors for Inturist.

In case the post-Congress tour is bought not simultaneously with the main Congress tour, purchasing it later is not guaranteed.

On receiving the Inturist's confirmation of your participation in the XIII Congress, please, notify the Organising Committee by returning the enclosed Form B.

LADIES PROGRAMME

A special programme including excursions to Moscow museums and the suburbs will be available to the accompanying persons.

A special children programme will also be developed.

President of the Organising Committee of Historical Sciences

PAUL HARSIN

General Secretary of the International Committee of Historical Sciences

MICHEL FRANQOIS.

Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Congress

A.A. Guber

General Secretary of the Congress

A.S. Protopopov

Y.I. KORABLEV. Soviet Historiography on V. I. Lenin's Role in the Organization and Development of the Armed Forces of the Soviet State

The article makes an analytical survey of Soviet historical literature published in the period 1918 - 1969, which highlights Lenin's activity directed towards the upbuilding of the Soviet Armed Forces. Parallel with the struggle for peace, the task of reliably protecting the gains of the revolution against the encroachments of external and internal counterrevolutionary forces was an imperative and vitally important function of the Soviet state in conditions of capitalist encirclement. "We could not exist without organizing armed defence of the socialist republic," Ienin repeatedly stressed. Many researches by Soviet historians graphically illustrate Lenin's consistent and tireless effort to evolve the theoretical foundations for the army of a new type - an army of the revolution defending the fundamental interests of the working people, his practical leadership of the nationwide effort to organize and enhance the country's defence capacity, to build up and strengthen the Soviet Army and Navy, the rare abilities demonstrated by the founder and leader of the Communist Party and the Soviet state in the field of military science, in the elaboration of revolutionary strategy and tactics.

I.D. KOVALCHENKO. Lenin on the Nature of the Agrarian System in Capitalist Russia

The article analyzes Lenin's cosceptiin of the agrarian system prevailing in Russia in the era of capitalism. Carefully examining the numerous questions on which Lenin focussed attention in his works, the author singles out those of them which give rise to controversy among Soviet historians, first and foremost the question concerning the main stages in the development of agrarian capitalism. The author graphically shows that the developed, classical forms of agrarian capitalism are preceded by the lower, primitive forms of capitalism. One of the distinctive features attending the agrarian system prevailing in Russia at the turn of the 20th century was the predominance of comparatively low forms of capitalism. The article makes a detailed examination of Lenin's characteristic of the inner structure of the peasant economy. Particular attention is drawn by the author to the extensive development of petty-bourgeois peasant farming in Russia. The central problems examined in the section devoted to the landlord system of farming concerns the essence of the so-called corvee system, which is described by the author as an undeveloped capitalist form of production. In the concluding part of his article the author examines the paths of the bourgeois agrarian evolution, establishes the correlation of the bourgeois landlord and bourgeois-peasant tendencies of agrarian development in Russia and traces the causes which are chiefly responsible for the fact that the process of bourgeois agrarian development in Russia remained uncompleted.

Y.A. AKHAPKIN. Organization of the Lenin Archive

There are now more than 30,000 Lenin documents - manuscripts of books, articles and pamphlets, letters, notes, legislative acts drafted by the Soviet government and signed by Lenin, as well as 874 metres of film and 396 photographs taken during the lifetime of V. I. Lenin-kept at the Central Party Archive of the CPSU Central Committee's Institute of Marxism-Leninism. They comprise a special fund of V. I. Lenin's documents. The article traces the origin and development of this fund from 1923 to the present time. The author shows the basic types of scientific investigations carried out in the process of organizing the fund, citing by way of illustration the painstaking work required by some

of the Lenin manuscripts. A number of documents published in the article testify to the valuable assistance rendered the Institute by N. K. Krupskaya during the early period of organization of the Lenin Archive. The author describes the conditions in which the manuscripts are kept, the methods and techniques of restoring badly damaged documents and of deciphering fading texts. The article briefly outlines the tasks confronting researchers in V. I. Lenin's manuscripts and documents.

S.P. PEREGUDOV. The Wilson Government and the Monopolies (1964 - 1969)

The article examines the ever closer ties formed in Britain between the Labour government and Big Business in the period 1964 - 1969, analyzing the main factors determining the pattern of their interrelations. The author convincingly shows how the monopolies were gradually increasing their pressure on the Labour government in an effort to direct its policy along the path chosen by them, and were steadily strengthening their positions. And although the government carried out certain measures infringing the interests of the monopolies, the latter nevertheless succeeded, without too much effort, in confining the government's reform-making activity within very narrow bounds and forcing it to abandon its relatively flexible social manoeuvring in favour of frankly anti-labour policies. The chief factor which tended to restrict the monopolies' influence on the policy of the Labour government and which compelled the latter to give up its anti-union legislation was the increased activity of the working class and its organizations in upholding their vital rights and interests.

A.N. HEIFETZ. The History of the National-Liberation Movement of the Peoples of the East as Reflected in Lenin's Works

the article highlights the significant contribution made by Lenin to the historiography of national- liberation movements in the Eastern countries. Elaborating the theory of the socialist revolution, the national and colonial question, formulating the strategy and tactics of the Communist Party and the international revolutionary movement, determining the national and foreign policy of the Soviet state, Lenin thoroughly investigated a number of cardinal problems pertaining to the history of the national-liberation movement of the peoples of Asia and Africa. Among other things, many of Lenins' works comprehensively analyze the external and internal preconditions of the first Asian revolutions which broke out at the beginning of the 20th century, the alignment of class forces in these revolutions, their character and historic significance, the role of the national-liberation movement of the peoples of the colonies and dependent countries in the world revolutionary process.

In many of his works produced after the October Revolution, Lenin closely studied the history of the new revolutionary rise sweeping the countries of the colonial world during that period and generalized the historical experience gained by the Soviet Central Asian Republics and Mongolia in taking the first steps along the road of non-capitalist development.

Containing as they do an all-round analysis of cardinal problems concerning the history of the national-liberation movements of the peoples of the East, V. I. Lenin's works provide the basis for the further development of this particular branch of Soviet historical science and Soviet Oriental studies.

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