Kuzmin, Apollon G.

He graduated from the History Department of Ryazan State Pedagogical Institute (1956). In the early 1960s, at the invitation of his teacher, academician M.N. Tikhomirov moved from Ryazan to Moscow and joined the working group of the Institute of History of the USSR Academy of Sciences on the publication of PSRL . Then, in the late 1960s, on the recommendation of academicians B. A. Rybakov and I. D. Kovalchenko, Kuzmin became deputy editor-in-chief of the journal Voprosy istorii , combining this position with work at the department of feudal history of the history department of Moscow State University . During this period, he actively participated in various discussions on key issues of Russian history (the ethnogenesis of the Slavs , the origin of the Old Russian state, the study of the Russian chronicles , the authenticity of the “ Words about Igor’s Regiment ”, etc.).

In 1975, at the invitation of Professor D. S. Baburin, he went to work at the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute. Lenin , where he worked for nearly 30 years and trained several dozen doctors and candidates of historical sciences ( A.F. Kiselev , S.V. Perevezentsev , V.V. Fomin , V.I. Vyshegorodtsev, G.A. Artamonov, V.V. Malandin, V. I. Merkulov, E. S. Galkina , E. A. Kolesnikova, Yu. A. Mamaev, G. V. Talina , V. V. Gorsky and others)

In 1996, his daughter Tatyana died in a car accident . In the early 2000s, Kuzmin came to Ryazan for rest and treatment to his eldest daughter Irina. He died on May 9, 2004 from blood poisoning in the Ryazan Regional Hospital. Apollo Grigorievich Kuzmin was buried in Moscow , at the Khovansky cemetery , after the funeral in the Church of Archangel Michael in Troparyov ^[3] .

In 1963 he defended his thesis “Ryazan annals”, and in 1971 - his doctoral dissertation “Initial stages of the Old Russian annals”.

He is the author of a number of concepts related to the study of the ethnogenesis of Indo-Europeans and Slavs, Old Russian annals , “ Varangian ”, “ Norman ”, “ Russian ” and “ Khazar ” problems, the origin of the Old Russian state, the typology of the primary forms of social organization of Indo-European peoples , the origins of Russian Christianity and baptism Russia , the problems of the dialectics of the relationship between the "Earth" (society) and "Power" (state) ^{[ specify ]} . He suggested that the Pre-Slavs formed in the II - beginning of the I millennium BC. e. on the vast territory of Europe from the southern coast of the Baltic to the forest-steppe of the Dnieper .

In the 1970-1980s, A. G. Kuzmin practically single-handedly defended the point of view that the Vikings were not Scandinavians ^[4] . Often polemicized in the press with L. N. Gumilyov ^{[5] [6]} , A. A. Zimin , E. Kinnan , A. Poppe , L. V. Cherepnin and other famous historians. According to V. A. Kuchkin , Kuzmin did not agree with either the Normanists or the anti-Normanists , and he essentially solved the main problem of their debate about the significance of the foreign principle in Russian history as did the Normanists ^[7] .

In Soviet times, he actively participated in the campaign against Zionism , which he later called the “mechanism of power of the enemies of the human race” ^[8] . In 1974, in a review of the book “Zionism. Theory and Practice ” ^[9] quoted from the“ memorandum of one of the Jewish societies of the USA ”, testifying to the long-standing (“ from the time of Moses ”) Jews' desire to“ dominate the world ”. He was the author of a chapter in the book “The Ideology and Practice of International Zionism” (M., 1978), and in 1979 he reviewed another book on Zionism in the journal “ Young Guard ” ^[10] .

According to the writer S. N. Semanov ,

... Kuzmin said that he gives papers to his students (these are even junior courses), and they distribute the same thing to his daughter. In vain it! The benefit is very small from the fact that a dozen freshmen will begin to see clearly, and he can get caught on this large and ugly, spoil the little that we have achieved at the Pedagogical Institute.

- Diary entry of S. N. Semanov for February 24, 1980 ^[11]

In 1990, the historian advocated the re-publication of the “ Protocols of the Zion of the Sages ” ^[12] , at the same time he signed the “ Letter of Seventy-Four .” In later publications, A. G. Kuzmin linked his opponents in science with Zionism, ranking “anti-Normanism” in Soviet historiography ^{[ clarify ]} the consequences of the decisions of the “Zionist Congress of 1962 ^{[ specify ] the} year ” ^[8] .

Kuzmin was the chairman of the political organization “Moscow Volunteer Society for the Protection of Russian Culture“ Fatherland ”” (1989 - early 1990s), in the board of which Alexander Rutskoi participated ^[13] . He was a member of the Coordination Council of the NDSR .

In 1999, he wrote about the fact that the practice of artificially creating privileges for all nations except the Russian one continues in the Russian Federation. Kuzmin considered it abnormal that in the conditions of the collapse of the previous social system, 50% of the Russian territory was “privatized” by 7% of its inhabitants, since the borders of the republics were drawn without questioning the population and everywhere at the expense of Russian lands ^[14] .

The historian V. B. Kobrin drew attention to the fact that Kuzmin at first considered the calling of the Varangians-Scandinavians a myth, but then recognized it as a genuine event with the participation of the Varangians-Slavs, indicating that his previous “approach was logical, based on the notion of“ Varangians “ like the Scandinavians. A revision of this provision significantly changes the assessment of the whole tradition. ” From Kobrin’s point of view, such a change of position indicates that Kuzmin’s “reliability of the facts reported by the sources depends on what concept the researcher accepts. The concept is more important than the facts. Thus, the criterion of the truth of the concept is lost, and any falsification, any fitting of facts to a priori general judgments becomes simple and easy ” ^[12] .

In the obituary in “ Soviet Russia ”, the administration, staff and students of the history department of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, the board of the Union of Writers of Russia , the board of the Moscow Fatherland Fatherland Fatherland Theater rated A. G. Kuzmin’s activity as follows:

Apollon Grigorievich has always been a true patriot of Russia, he took an active citizenship, made a significant contribution to the development of the Russian patriotic movement. His journalistic works in Our Contemporary , Young Guard and other patriotic publications are imbued with pride for the past and pain for the present ... Apollon Grigorievich was never afraid to engage in open battle with the enemies of our Fatherland.

- “Soviet Russia” No. 62 (12529), May 13, 2004

A colleague of the scientist Professor M. Yu. Lachaeva in a biographical article about A. G. Kuzmin writes:

The combination of science and journalism in the work of A. G. Kuzmin did not harm each other, moreover, journalism made it possible to formulate the existing conceptual provisions in a bold and figurative manner. He understood that the guardian of memory, the historian bears methodological responsibility, and the requirement of scientific scrupulousness and responsibility for the meaning and form of linguistic expression is fully applicable to him.

- Lachaeva M. Yu. ^[15]

The publicist O. L. Gubarev so appreciated his contribution to anti-Normanism :

... The anti-Normanist A. G. Kuzmin, who made harsh and fair criticisms of the " New Chronology " of the folk historian Fomenko , himself created a hypothesis that is not inferior to it.

The fact is that the anti-Normanists of the 19th century, being united in criticizing "Normanism", which was the most powerful part of their work (because criticizing another is always easier than creating something yourself), diverged in the positive part of their work, trying to bring Russia out from all over the medieval world. So hypotheses were formed about the many different "Rus", each of which claimed the role of the homeland of the Ancient Rus and competed with others. The presence of many alternative hypotheses, none of which has been proven and recognized in science, was a serious problem of anti-Normanism. It was A.G. Kuzmin who cut this Gordian knot, recognizing all the "Russians" as contributing to the formation of the ancient Russian people. Moreover, without explaining the role of these "Rus" in the formation of Ancient Russia, apparently leaving this puzzling question to his students and supporters.

- Gubarev O. L. ^[16]

Author of about 350 scientific publications

Monographs

• Kuzmin A. G. Ryazan annals: Information about annals about Ryazan and Murom until the middle of the XVI century. - M .: Nauka , 1965 .-- 286 p. - 2400 copies.
• Kuzmin A. G. Russian annals as a source on the history of Ancient Russia / M-enlightenment of the USSR. Ryazan state ped institute - Ryazan: B. and., 1969 .-- 242 p.
• Kuzmin A. G. Initial stages of the Old Russian annals. - M .: Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1977 .-- 408 p. - 6300 copies.
• Kuzmin A.G. Tatishchev. - M .: Young Guard , 1981. - 352 p. - (The life of wonderful people ). - 100,000 copies.
  • Kuzmin A.G. Tatishchev. - Ed. 2nd. - M .: Young Guard, 1987 .-- 368 p. - (The life of wonderful people). - 150,000 copies.
• Kuzmin A.G. The Fall of Perun: The Formation of Christianity in Russia. - M .: Young Guard, 1988 .-- 240 p. - 150,000 copies. - ISBN 5-235-00053-6 .
• "Baptism of Rus" in the works of Russian and Soviet historians / Entry. Art. A. G. Kuzmina; Comp. A. G. Kuzmin et al. - M.: Thought, 1988. - 333 [3] p. ISBN 5-244-00114-0
• Kuzmin A. G. To which temple are we looking for a way? (History through the eyes of a contemporary). - M .: Sovremennik , 1989 .-- 400 p. - 30,000 copies. - ISBN 5-270-00982-X .
• “Zlatostruy” (M., 1990; publication)
• Kuzmin A. G. Who is “root” in the Baltic? - M., 1993.
• Slavs and Russia: Problems and Ideas: Concepts born of a three-century polemic, in a textbook exposition / Comp., Foreword, afterword. and comment. A. G. Kuzmina; Repl. ed. A.F. Kiselev . - M .: Flint: Science, 1998 .-- 488 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-89349-094-0 , ISBN 5-02-011704-8 .
  • Slavs and Russia: Problems and Ideas: Concepts born of a three-century polemic, in a textbook exposition / Comp., Foreword, afterword. and comment. A. G. Kuzmina. - M .: Science; Flint, 2001 .-- 488 p. - 1,500 copies - ISBN 5-89349-206-4 , ISBN 5-02-008763-7 .
• "The Source of Ancient Russia" (2001);
• Kuzmin A. G. Source study of the history of Russia (from ancient times to the Mongol conquest): Textbook. - M .: Prometheus, 2002 .-- 240 p. - ISBN 5-7042-1131-3 .
• Kuzmin A. G. The Beginning of Russia: Secrets of the Birth of the Russian People. - M .: Veche, 2003 .-- 630 p. - (Secrets of the Russian Land). - 7000 copies. - ISBN 5-9533-0121-9 , ISBN 5-9533-0032-8 .
• Kuzmin A.G. Baptism of Rus. - M .: Eksmo , Algorithm, 2004 .-- 416 p. - (Origins). - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-699-05744-7 .
• Kuzmin A. G. Marauders on the roads of history. - M .: Russian panorama, 2005 .-- 336 p. - (Reflections of the historian). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 5-93165-112-8 .
• “History of Russia from Ancient Times to 1618” (vols. 1-2, 2004; editor)
• Kuzmin A.G. Ancient Russian civilization. - M.: Algorithm, 2013 .-- 496 p. - (The true history of Russia). - 1000 copies.

Articles

• Kuzmin A. G. On the source-based basis of "History of the Russian" V. N. Tatishchev // Questions of history. - 1963. - No. 9. - S. 214‒218.
• Kuzmin A. G. Ipatiev Chronicle and “The Word and Igor's Campaign” (in relation to an article by A. A. Zimin) // History of the USSR . - 1968. - No. 6. - S. 64-87.
• Kuzmin A. G. "The word about Igor's regiment" about the beginning of the Russian land // History. - 1969. - No. 5. - S. 53‒66.
• Kuzmin A. G. Two concepts of the beginning of Russia in the Tale of Bygone Years // History of the USSR. - 1969. - No. 6. - S. 81-105.
• Kuzmin A. G. “Varangians” and “Rus” on the Baltic Sea // History. - 1970. - No. 10. - S. 28‒55.
• Kuzmin A.G. Ancient Russian historical traditions and ideological trends of the XI century // Questions of history. - 1971. - No. 10. - S. 55‒76.
• Voronin N.N. , Kuzmin A.G. Spiritual Culture of Ancient Russia // History. - 1972. - No. 9. - S. 111-132.
• Kuzmin A.G. Controversial issues of the methodology of studying Russian chronicles // Questions of history. - 1973. - No. 2. - S. 32‒53.
• Kuzmin A. G. Against speculation about the correspondence of Kurbsky and Ivan the Terrible // Questions of History. - 1973. - No. 9.
• Kuzmin A.G. To disputes about the methodology of studying the Initial Chronicle // History of the USSR. - 1973. - No. 4. - S. 219—231.
• Kuzmin A. G. On the ethnic nature of the Varangians (On the statement of the problem) // Questions of history. - 1974. - No. 11. - S. 54‒83.
• Kuzmin A. G. The Beginning of the Novgorod Chronicle // Questions of History. - 1977. - No. 1. - S. 59‒77.
• Kuzmin A. G. Russian enlightenment of the XVIII century // Questions of history. - 1978. - No. 1.
• Kuzmin A.G. Sources of cult features of the West Slavic pagan temples // Questions of history. - 1980. - No. 4.
• Kuzmin A. G. The adoption of Christianity in Russia // Questions of scientific atheism . Vol. 25. Atheism, religion, the church in the history of the USSR / Acad. societies. Sciences of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Institute of Scientific Atheism. - M .: Thought , 1980. - S. 7-35. - 341 p. - 20,000 copies.
• Kuzmin A.G. Church and secular power in the era of the Battle of Kulikovo // Questions of Scientific Atheism . Vol. 37. Orthodoxy in the history of Russia / Editorial. V.I. Garaja (ed.) And others; Acad. societies. Sciences of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Institute of Scientific Atheism. - M .: Thought , 1988 .-- S. 90-99. - 303 s. - 20,700 copies. - ISBN 5-244-00202-3 .

• In memory of Apollon Grigorievich Kuzmin // Domestic history. - 2004. - No. 6. - S. 212‒213.
• Kuzmin Apollon G. // Historians of Russia of the XX century: Bibliographic dictionary: in 2 volumes / Auth. A.A. Chernobaev ; Ed. V.A.Dines . - Saratov: Saratov State Socio-Economic University , 2005. - T. 1 (A – L). - S. 500 .-- 576 p. - 2000 copies. - ISBN 5-87309-438-1 .
• Fomin V.V. A. G. Kuzmin and his contribution to the study of the early history of Russia // Bulletin of the Lipetsk State Pedagogical University. Humanities Series. 2008. Issue. 2.
• Perevezentsev S.V. Chronicler of the Russian Land: essay-recollection. In memory of Apollon G. Kuzmin // The expulsion of the Normans from Russian history. Vol. 1 / Comp. and ed. V.V. Fomin; Institute of Russian History, Russian Academy of Sciences . - M .: Russian panorama, 2010. - S. 513-534. - 552 s. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-93165-203-0 .
• Lachaeva M. Yu. Apollon Kuzmin: Russian intellectual and historian // New Book of Russia. 2008. No. 11. S. 35-42.

• Kuzmin, Apollon Grigorievich . On the Chronos website .
• Article on the website of the Moscow State Pedagogical University
• An article on the website of the Institute of Russian Civilization
• Obituary in the newspaper " Soviet Russia "
• Obituary in the Golden Lion magazine
• Obituary in the magazine " Patriotic History "
• Obituary on Ad fontes
• Ravel A. Who "cut" whom?
• Merkulov V.I. He never betrayed
• Perevezentsev S.V. Russian character (essay-memorial to the 80th birthday of A.G. Kuzmin)
• Samovarov A. Marxism or nationalism?
• Kashtanov D. The Exile of the Varangians: The Phenomenon of Anti-Normanism
• Kashtanov D. Rus “Arian”: the phenomenon of anti-Normanism
• 85th Birth Anniversary of Apollo Kuzmin
• Merkulov V. I. In memory of Professor Apollon G. Kuzmin | Reformat.ru. 05/07/2014
• Spitsyn E. Professor in the circle of problems
• Aryan runes on the Strings (who needs historical fakes and why?)
• “Our beauty is dead”: Russia and the Golden Horde

Controversy with L. N. Gumilyov :

• Gumilev L.N. Dispute with the poet
• Propeller of Passionarity, or Theory of the Privatization of History