Dissertationists and opponents: dissertation defence models and opponency experience (the 1930s and 1940s)

This article explores the meaning and nature of the Opponents-Dissertationist communication models established in Soviet dissertation system, examining how they reflect the academic/professional, official, and personal interactions between scholars. The focus of the article is on the procedures for defending a doctoral dissertation. The key source of information for the research is the verbatim records (transcripts) of meetings of the academic councils at the educational institutions. By analyzing their content, the author identifies the types of interactions between dissertationists and opponents that were typical during the period in question. The author reviews in detail the doctoral defense of A.V. Predtechenskiy, highlighting the specific communication between the opponents and the dissertationist, as well as between experts related to the dissertation in question. The opponents of this scholar were mainly representatives of the first generation of historians of the 1930s and 1940s trained in history at universities before the revolution. The author studies the reviews to determine the principles of expert analysis of dissertations. The interactions between the opponents and degree candidates were used to develop several dissertation defense models. These include the following: Equal among equal; Disciple dissertationists and patron/mentor opponents; and Opponents and dissertationists on a search for the meaning of historical studies. The author concludes that the Soviet dissertation system adopted pre-revolutionary academic traditions, and that dissertation opponency was viewed as a valid means of upholding professional standards and scholarly principles during the period in question.