Historigraphical review of the studies on the life and work of A. V. Kartashev

The author characterizes the main stages of studying the life and work of the Russian and émigré historian, theologian, state and political figure A. V. Kartashev. Having appeared before the 1917 revolution, the first notes on him in encyclopedias and biographical dictionaries were not very informative, but they testified his inclusion in the intellectual elite of Russia. After the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks and the emigration of A. V. Kartashev abroad, the research was divided into two channels. On the one hand, reviews of his works published in the émigré periodicals recognized his contribution to the development of religious studies, although at times they contained criticism of the certain ideas of the historian. A peculiar result of the evaluation of his contribution to the studies of the past of the Russian Orthodox Church and theology were publications on the occasion of the death of A. V. Kartashev. They were commemorative actions by those who personally knew him and studied under his supervision at St. Sergius Theological Institute in Paris. On the other hand, in the books of Soviet historians on the religious thought in prerevolutionary Russia, on the Provisional Government, on the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War in Russia, he was characterized as a reactionary God seeker and counterrevolutionary political figure. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were also two streams: the apologetics of his merits and shattering criticism of him. According to the author, a promising trend of research that enables one to overcome the extremes of the ideologized approaches is the study of A. V. Kartashev’s biography in the framework of intellectual history. The basis for such study should be the use of cognitive principles of understanding (verstehen), combined with a communicative approach and contextualism, as well as narratological analysis, taking into account the poststructuralist perspective.