Boris Fedorovich Porshnev: the beginning of great path

The article focuses on the eminent Russian historian Boris Porshnev’s studies at the Moscow State University, RANION Institute of History, Communist Academy Institute of History (1922- 1929). In 1922 B. Porshnev entered the 1st Petrograd State University, the Social-Pedagogical Department. But his family moved, so almost immediately he was transferred to the similar department at the 1st MSU. Taking into account the formal documentation and curricula of the DSS of the 1st MSU, it becomes evident that the education was mostly focused on the social, economic and pedagogical subjects, i.e. Marxist courses, and was meant to form a so-called materialist worldview. The historian recognized it as well. He mentioned later that he had studied biology and psychology. However, it is not mentioned in any sources. Although the Social-Pedagogical Department was the successor of the pre-revolutionary Historical Department, its curricula didn’t provide specialized historical courses, such as paleography, diplomatics, sphragistics, etc. Ancient languages were not taught either. Modern foreign languages were rarely included and not emphasized. In 1926, B. Porshnev became a post-graduate of the RANION Institute of History. There he had improved his historical preparation, written several big academic texts and records, learned foreign languages. He began to publish his papers. But he graduated from the RANION Institute of History without a dissertation and, therefore, a science degree. Later, Boris Porshnev wrote that he had been a student of the academic Viacheslav Volgin. But documents showed that he had been a student of Bolsheviks Vladimir Newsky and Sergey Piontkovsky. It testifies that Boris Porshnev began his academic carrier as a historian of Russia and specialized in the history of social thought of the nineteenth century Russia. At the beginning of his academic carrier, his contemporaries noted his attitude towards theoretical construction and manipulation of historical materials with too much liberty. The article touches on some aspects of everyday life and relations between people.