On October 5-9, 1984, Leningrad hosted meetings of the members of the Organizing Bureau for Constitutionalization (within the framework of the IKIN) of the International Commission on the History of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Present were: from Austria-Prof. H. Haselsteiner, from the NRB - acad. H. Hristov, from Great Britain-Prof. P. Duke, from the GDR-Prof. F. Muchi, from the GDR - Prof. V. Ruge, from the USSR - Prof. S. S. Khromov, from the USA - Prof. A. Rabinovich, from Germany - Prof. D. Geyer. Unfortunately, representatives of the MNR, France, and Czechoslovakia could not arrive.

The first meeting was opened by the Director of the Institute of History of the USSR of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR S. S. Khromov. On behalf of Academician-Secretary of the History Department of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the National Committee of Soviet Historians, Academician S. L. Tikhvinsky, the audience was greeted by A. O. Chubaryan. It was emphasized that the proposed commission should become another body of scientific cooperation and free exchange of opinions among specialists. Yu. I. Korablev read out an address to the participants of the meeting by the Chairman of the Organizing Bureau, Academician I. I. Mints: "Now that the threat of a nuclear catastrophe is looming over our planet, contacts between representatives of different peoples and different worldviews are especially important. I hope that the meeting of historians of the October Revolution from Europe and America, despite all the differences in their political and scientific positions, will promote mutual understanding and contribute to the preservation of peace on earth."

S. S. Khromov addressed the audience with an introductory speech. Describing the organizational structure of the research development of the history of October in the Soviet Union, he noted that Soviet specialists have considerable experience in international cooperation on this issue, in particular, thanks to the activities of the Problem Commission for Multilateral Cooperation of the Academy of Sciences of Socialist Countries on the History of the October Revolution and subsequent Socialist Revolutions (Chairman-Academician I. I. Mints). Khromov went on to say that Soviet historians pay great attention to the study of the history of October in Western Europe and the United States. At the same time, the literature that is imbued with the spirit of anti-communism and anti-Sovietism is resolutely rejected, but any desire for an objective interpretation of the history of the October Revolution has always been and will continue to be understood by Soviet specialists. There are a number of aspects of its history, in the development of which international cooperation of scientists can lead to positive results.

Most of the sessions were devoted to historiographical reports on the history of the October Revolution and its international significance, as well as discussions on these reports.

The Soviet side presented three reports. E. N. Gorodetsky analyzed the Soviet historiography of October at various stages of its development, paying special attention to the modern stage. The speaker showed the extent to which such key issues as the socio-economic and political background of the revolution, its driving forces (the working class, the working peasantry, the soldiers ' masses, the national liberation movement, etc.), state and public bodies (Soviets, factory committees, the Red Guard), the influence of October in other regions of the world, and the protection of conquests were developed revolutions, Russian and foreign counter-revolutions, etc. D. E. N. Gorodetsky emphasized that the Soviet historiography of October is supported by

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a wide source base, most of which is reflected in a series of documentary publications published at different times. Now the task is to publish a complete corpus of sources on the history of October.

M. P. Iroshnikov read a report prepared by him together with G. L. Sobolev and R. S. Ganelin (all from Leningrad). The review of the most important documentary publications on the history of the three Russian revolutions contained in it shows the wide scope of publishing activity in the USSR. Its director, B. I. Kaptelov, spoke about the materials stored in the TSAOR of the USSR.

Professor Haselsteiner noted in his report that Austrian research centers (universities in Vienna, Graz, the Institute of Eastern Europe, etc.) dealing with the history of Russia focus on studying such aspects of the October Revolution as its revolutionizing influence in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, the national question, and some others; works on history The October Revolution itself is almost nonexistent. It is poorly reflected in Austria in university and school textbooks. In this regard, the speaker spoke in favor of expanding the exchange of bibliographic and historiographic information, as well as the possibility of working in the archives of other countries.

Academician H. Hristov spoke about the works of Bulgarian scientists on the history of Great October published over the past 10 - 15 years. These studies mainly cover such issues as the international significance of the October Socialist Revolution, the influence of its ideas in Bulgaria, and the international solidarity of workers in the struggle for the victory of the socialist Revolution in Russia and in defending its gains. Bulgarian historians and sociologists strive to study more deeply the historical experience of October, which is of great value for socialist construction in UXO.

In his report, Professor P. Dukes highlighted the evolution of the study of the history of the October Revolution in England. He emphasized the special role of Professor E. Carr, whose works began to be published after the end of the Second World War. According to P. Dukes, their definite drawback is that the main attention in them is concentrated on the "upper classes", the working masses were not the subject of special study. But E. Carr sympathetically described the revolution in Russia, and now in England historians studying the problems of 1917 can be divided into two groups: "for" or "against" Carr. In 1975, a group for the study of the Russian Revolution was established in England. Every year, the group meets in Oxford, after which collections of articles are published (10 collections have already been published). P. Dukes also spoke about the conference on "The First Months of Soviet Power", which was held in Essex (May 1984) and shows, in particular, the growing interest of Western historians in the formation and consolidation of the Soviet State. the authorities.

V. A. Shishkin, G. L. Sobolev, A. O. Chubarian, and others asked P. Dukes a number of questions about the correlation between the influence on English historiography of October, on the one hand, of the works of E. Carr, and on the other - of such an anti-communist and anti-Soviet as L. Shapiro; about the latest English works on the history of the working class in 1917.; etc.

Professor F. Muchi gave a thematic review of the Hungarian historical literature on October. A large place in it is occupied by the memoirs of Hungarian communists who participated in the revolution and civil war. According to the speaker, the topic of internationalism is most fully developed in the Hungarian literature. The study of other subjects of the history of the October Revolution is also expanding, although there is still a lot to be done. According to F. Muchi, Hungarian historians solve their problems in close scientific contact with Soviet historians.

Professor V. Ruge, speaking about the study of the history of the October Revolution in the GDR, expressed the opinion that one of the central issues in the work of the International Commission should be the topic of the influence of October on the fate of all mankind. The question of war and peace must come first. The speaker recalled the words of R. Luxemburg that an alternative to socialism can only be a totally destructive war, the destruction of culture, and barbarism. It was the socialist revolution that gave humanity a chance to build a society without the threat of war, and it is necessary to show in every possible way how the ideas of Great October can help in the struggle for strengthening peace today.

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In connection with the report of V. Ruge, a discussion was held about the chronological and thematic framework of the work of the International Commission. H. Hristov raised the question of the desirability of expanding this framework by including some modern problems related to the historical experience of October. D. Geyer expressed the sense that at the first steps of the Commission's activity, its work should not be too thematic N. S. Khromov suggested that all participants of the meeting should consider this issue by the next meeting.

A. Rabinovich focused on two trends in the West in the interpretation of the history of the October Revolution. Until about the mid-60s, the concept of October as a "conspiracy", a "putsch" carried out by a group of Bolsheviks, dominated almost completely. The source of this anti-historical concept was the White emigrant historiography, mainly of cadet origin. But since the mid-60s, a number of factors (the end of McCarthyism, detente, growing opposition to the "dirty" (Vietnam) war, the weakening of the authority of White immigrant historians, the influence of Soviet historiography, etc.) have seriously undermined this concept. According to A. Rabinovich, it was significantly superseded by the new interpretation of October, according to which the revolution was a deeply popular, democratic movement, and the Bolshevik party as a whole expressed the fundamental interests of the masses. Works written in the spirit of this interpretation are characterized by a broader source base, an interest in socio-economic factors, and grassroots movements. The new approach, A. Rabinovich pointed out, presented American and Western historians in general with a number of new problems related to the Civil war period. The speaker suggested that the prehistory of October (the period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries) should also be included in the commission's work.

In the discussion on A. Rabinovich's report, the speakers (A. O. Chubaryan, G. L. Sobolev, M. P. Iroshnikov, G. Z. Ioffe, etc.) raised the question of the influence of the traditional concept mentioned in the report on the mass and educational literature on the history of the USSR and the October Revolution published in the United States. Facts were presented that indicate that mass historical propaganda in the West is being conducted under the growing pressure of anti-communism and anti-Sovietism.

Professor D. Geyer noted in his report that German historians have developed more extensively topics related to international relations during the October Revolution and Eastern German politics. But now a number of universities are preparing dissertations on the history of revolutions in Russia and the history of the post-revolutionary period (the creation of a new state apparatus, a new economy, culture, etc.). German historical journals inform readers about new works by Soviet historians. Further, D. Geyer gave a brief overview of the German archive collections, which contain materials on the history of October, and noted that West German scientists are interested in expanding the possibilities of working in Soviet archives.

B. I. Kaptelov gave a certificate on the number of foreign scientists who have worked in the Central State Academy of Sciences of the USSR in recent years, and assured that any foreign scientist who seeks an objective, unbiased approach to the documents can get access to them.

At the final meeting, organizational issues were discussed. The International Commission on the History of the Great October Socialist Revolution was established within the framework of the ICIN. It is headed by a 12-person bureau. Academician I. I. Mints (USSR) was elected President of the commission, and Prof A. Rabinovich (USA), Prof F. Muchi (WNR) and an Austrian scientist, whose surname the Austrian side will name later, were elected vice-presidents. Professor S. S. Khromov (USSR) was elected General Secretary.

The next meeting of the commission will be held in Stuttgart (Germany) in 1985. The following topics will be discussed:: state of the study of the history of October in different countries; methodological and other aspects of the study of the Russian and international labor movement in 1917.

Representatives of the delegations expressed the opinion that the work of the first meeting of the commission was imbued with the spirit of business cooperation and mutual understanding.

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