“You Are Usually the Editor of These Volumes and the Actual Head of All Historical and Geographical Work in Our Country”: A. P. Pronshtein’s Letters to V. K. Yatsunskiy (1959–1964)

Abstract

The publication includes the letters by A. P. Pronshtein (written in 1959–1964) to V. K. Yatsunskiy (one of the most prominent Soviet specialists in historical geography). The main content of the letters is related to the preparation of A. P. Pronshtein’s researches on the history of the Don Region, including the historical geography of the region in the 18th century. The letters contain A. P. Pronshtein’s reflection on main ideas of his papers, the work progress, and the obstacles he encountered in the process of research. At the same time, these historical sources contain information about the archival finds of the historian, brief descriptions of daily professional activities at Rostov State University. Thus, the published historical sources are valuable for reconstructing A. P. Pronstein’s scientific life in the late 1950s – the first half of the 1960s and studying communication in the scientific environment, as well as the history of historical geography in the USSR. The letters were found in the personal fund of V. K. Yatsunskiy (F. 1639) in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The introduction notes pay attention to the place of historical geography studies in the scientific and pedagogical heritage of A. P. Pronshtein. There is also an assumption about the circumstances of the acquaintance of the two historians.

Keywords

• a. p. pronshtein
• v. k. yatsunskiy
• historical geography
• soviet historical science
• regional science
• historical geography source
• history of the don region
• don cossacks
• letters