Фальсификация исторических источников и конструирование этнократических мифов

Summary

Topical past: science and society

Falsification of historical sources and construction of ethnocratic myth

Scientific edition

Executive editors: A. Petrov (Institute of Slavonic studies of RAS), V. Shnirelman (N. Miklukho-Maklay Institute of ethnology and anthropology of RAS)

Reviewers: academician V. Tishkov, corresponding member of RAS P. Uvarov

The current publication is a part of an international project that started in 2007 in Russian Academy of Sciences during the round table "Falsification of sources and national histories". Now the reader is welcomed to get acquainted with its materials in this composite work where the results of investigation, dedicated to the study of fundamental problems of identification and incidence of forged sources of various genres (documentary, narrative, archeological, pseudo-etymological, anthropological), are presented. Outstanding historians, archeologists, linguists, specialists in the study of early texts and anthropologists conducted an analysis of origins, methods of manufacturing, presentation and propaganda of forgeries which are closely connected with ideological construction of the past. By means of various methods of the humanities such fabrications as the book of Veles, the Bulgar chronicles Djagfar Tarikhy (Cägfär Tarixi), the Albanian book and others were examined. The variety, regional and chronological diversity of forgeries rendered in the articles signify the formation of ethnocratic movements in modern Russia. The book is intended for both source study specialists and high readership, primarily for professors and students of the humanities.

Publication of the current collection is timed to coincide with the round table "Archeology and «the Grand Narrative» of Russian history. The issues of the struggle with falsification of the past" of July 8lh 2011.

These were the key factors for introducing the aforementioned topic into the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, i.e. into the field initially set up for meetings of various specialists, for polemic and joint presentations beyond any professional limitations and, most importantly, for elaboration of common grounds and cooperative civil actions. The Commission of science and innovations and the Working group of mastering of the legislation in the field ofpreserving archeological heritage have come forward with the proposition of the next round table which was supported by the Department of historico-philological sciences of Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of archeology of Russian Academy of Sciences.

Owing to the danger of such phenomena for the science and the society the organizers strongly believe in the need to coordinate the efforts of scientists in this struggle. They hope to work out a collective stance on the opposition to forging, discuss possible actions and create a working group for the dynamic response to the challenges in the field of archeology.

The materials of the discussion will form the next issue of the collection "Topical past: science and society" that is now planned to be turned into a continuous nonperiodical edition for the series of publications of the results achieved in this field.