THE ARCHIVE OF THE SOLOVETSKY MONASTERY IN THE SCIENTIFIC PATH OF THE PERM UNIVERSITY`S PROFESSOR BORIS D. GREKOV

Abstract

The archive of the Solovetsky Stavropegial Monastery is a unique monument of Russian medieval writing and a valuable source on the history of monastic land ownership in the 15th – 17th centuries. The Archaeographic Commission and the Holy Synod saved the monastery`s archive in 1917, ensured its preservation and secured scholars’ access to the documents. The article focuses on Professor Boris Dmitrievich Grekov (1882–1953) and his contribution to the evacuation of the Solovetsky archive from Arkhangelsk to Perm along with its preservation from destruction. Grekov was the founder of the Department of Russian History at the Perm University, a member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and was honored by getting the Stalin award. Grekov’s personal files deposited in the State Archives of the Perm Region are the main source for the research. The documents help better understand the scientific and pedagogic work of this outstanding scholar in Perm. In addition to Grekov’s contribution, the article highlights the role of the Perm diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church and its head, the archbishop of Perm and Kungur Andronik (Nikolsky), in rescuing the documents of the Solovetsky monastery and delivering them to Perm. The author introduces new information into the scientific circulation that sheds the light on the activity of the scientific corporation of the Perm University during the years of the revolution and the Civil War. The author concludes that the preservation of the unique monument of medieval Russian history (the archive of the Solovetsky Monastery) was a joint effort of the Perm University and Perm Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. The leading role in this rescue goes to the scholars of the Perm University and personally to Boris Grekov.