Historian and vozhd: everyday life and academic collisions in the life of an academician E. V. Tarle in Stalin regime

The article describes professional career of a Soviet historian E. V. Tarle. Evgeny Viktorovich Tarle (1874-1955) was born in an assimilated Jewish family; he received a good education first in a Gymnasium, then at the University being a disciple of I. Luchitsky. He defended his Master and Doctoral thesis, gave lectures in a number of the universities in Russia. E. V. Tarle supported Social Democrats, participated in the 1905-1907 Revolution. He became one of the most distinguished historians of the country (a member of the USSR Academy of Sciences since 1927) thanks to his pioneering scientific works in early history of French working class, continental blockage and others. He had mixed feelings towards Bolsheviks. In 1930 he was arrested over so called «Academic Case» and sent into exile to Kazakhstan. Later in 1930s, having reconciled with the state power and being kindly treated by it, he published a number of books which were approved of by Stalin («Napoleon», «Napoleon Invasion of Russia», «Taleiran» and others). In the period of the war (1941-1945) and the first post-war years Vozhd (Leader) recognized E. Tarle as a great historian and made him an authoritative person. At that time Tarle wrote a number of apologetic articles. However, Stalin was frustrated by the fact, that the historian procrastinated on writing a book about Vozhd's «outstanding» role played in Fascism destruction, as a result Stalin initiated a scientific discrediting of Tarle, that happened at the same time with anti-Semite campaign against «rootless cosmopolitans». Tarle had to accept all his wrong deeds, ask Vozhd to forgive him and write works approved of by the power. Stalin's death (March, 1953) let Tarle be less dependent on the ruling power.