Раев, Марк (Marc Raeff). Понять дореволюционную Россию

Mark Raev’s book, which has become a bibliographic rarity, begins with the word “understand.” The word precisely defines the position of the historian: he does not judge, does not evaluate. He wants to understand. The difficulty of understanding Russian history is also determined by the fact that it was persistently and systematically falsified after October 1917. It was rewritten at every turn of the general line. The presence of an official history of Russia also had an all-powerful influence on historians living outside the world's first socialist state. By accepting a decreed point of view or arguing with it, wanting to modify it, foreign historians remain associated with the approved interpretation of Russia's past. There are, of course, exceptions. The author of this book belongs to them.

Mark Raev was born in Russia, studied in Germany, France, and the USA. He served in the American army during the war, was a student of Mikhail Karpovich at the university, and then began teaching himself, taking the chair at Columbia University. His works, first of all, the book about Speransky, well known to specialists, testify not only to his research talent and brilliant erudition, but also to his independence of views and immunity to widespread, fashionable theories. Written and published in French in 1982, M. Raev’s book attracted attention with its freshness of view, depth of synthetic analysis, accuracy and conciseness of language. In a small area, he sets out an original concept of Russian history, tracing the roots of 1917.