EFREM IGNATIEVICH MEDVEDEV

This article is devoted to the analysis of scientific heritage of Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor Efrem Ignatievich Medvedev, who in the second half of 1950-ies - the beginning of the 1980-ies was a leader in the study of agrarian history of the Volga Region. It is devoted to the initial period of scientific activity of E.I.Medvedev, who headed the Central Archives of the Tatar Republic and had initiated publishing a number of collections of documents and materialsthat characterize the revolutionary movement in the Russian army during the First World War. During the given period the worldview of the historian wasstrongly influenced by professors N.N. Firsov, N.N. El’vov, as well as employees of Tatarstan Istpart E.I.Chernyshov and M.K. Korbut. The authors point out that since the second half of the 1950-ies E.I. Medvedev concentrated on studying of mass agrarian movement during the period of second Russian revolution of 1917 and the Civil War in the Volga Region. The relevance of the given theme lies in the fact that the author studies the system of conceptual representations of E.I. Medvedev that emerged at the turn of the 1920-ies - early 1930-ies and crystallized in the course of writing his Doctoral thesis and series of monographs on the history of the Volga Region. It is pointed out that his conclusions and observations have been formulated within the frameworks of Marxist-Leninist methodology. The methodological basis of the given research corresponds with the principles of historicism, objectivity, systemacity and complexity. The study is based on historiographic works by Russian historians and scientific researches by E.I. Medvedev. The article is devoted to the study of scientific heritage by E.I. Medvedev on the agrarian history of the Volga Region of the period of second Russian revolution; his contribution to the elaboration of history of peasantry in the Volga Region is shown.