The Russian historiography of the credit and financial system of the Russian Empire (1861–1914): approaches to the study, methodology and research methodology

In: Žurnal Belorusskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta: Časopis Belaruskaha Dzjaržaŭnaha Ŭniversitėta = Journal of the Belarusian State University. Istorija = Historyja = History, Heft 3, S. 101-109

Abstract

The article is devoted to the Russian historiography of the credit and financial system of the Russian Empire of the second half of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century. Its purpose is to study the main methodological approaches to research of the credit and financial system of the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century in pre-revolutionary, Soviet and modern historiography by identifying the main approaches and characteristic features of research on this topic in different historiographic periods, identifying the most prominent representatives and the most popular problematic issues of Russian historiography, identifying key research methods at different stages. The relevance of the article is determined by the coverage of different points of view on the problems of the development of the credit and financial system of the Russian Empire of the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries, concerning the financing of large infrastructure projects, modernization, the use of new financial instruments to increase government revenues, stabilize adverse macroeconomic problems context. This information can be used to solve modern strategic tasks of the state and rational use of financial resources. The novelty of the research is determined by the fact that to study the historiography of the credit and financial system of the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries was first applied to institutional evolutionary theory. The publication identifies the main features of pre-revolutionary historiography (empiricism, a reflection of the ideology of its social group, pluralism of opinions, deep erudition of the authors), Soviet (conducting research in the framework of the formation approach, officially approved methodological principles, criticism and repression of dissidents), modern (rejection of the formation approach, the use of information technologies, the use of economic research methods, the study of the object in the context of new directions). The author covers research methods (general scientific, historical, economic), characteristic for different periods of Russian historiography, the most popular problems, and areas of study of the credit and financial system (gender history, biography, everyday history, etc.). The article shows the pluralism of opinions of pre-revolutionary researchers, the results of the application of the formation approach by Soviet researchers, expressed in the harsh criticism of predecessors, one-sided coverage of events, the use of various research methods by modern researchers, and the development of new directions.