History of the Studies in Russian Memoir Literature of the 17th–18th Centuries: The Problem of Classification

Abstract

The article focuses on the historiography of Russian memoir literature of the 17th– 18th centuries. The authors turned to general studies in humanities (literary, historical, cultural, and philosophical) which discuss theoretical problems of classification and internal systematization of the varieties of memoir literature. The evolution of the terminological apparatus used within memoir studies is shown separately. A special aspect, reflected in the article, concerns attention of the researchers to the manuscript culture and the existence of monuments of memoir literature within this culture. Considering the history of the question chronologically, the authors of the article identify several periods, describe major research schools within the framework of traditional research, and discuss the studies in the field of the “new” methodological paradigm. Addressing the problem of classification in historiography demonstrates the need for further study of key problems in the memoir studies. In conclusion, the authors identify perspective direction towards creating adequate principles of classification, defining genre delimitations and criteria for selecting memoir monuments that exist in the manuscript tradition.

Keywords

• autobiographical genre
• diaries
• memoir literature
• manuscript culture
• handwritten monuments
• russian literature
• historiography.