The Image of Serf Russia in Domestic History Textbooks and in Scientific and Popular-Science Literature (the Experience of Comparative Sampling Study)

The article sets the original scientific problem of comparative analysis of serfdom history in domestic course books and scientific literature. Training aids on History, which have been published in Russia since 1798 to date, are the main subject for the study. Besides, some special works of chronologists, cultural specialists, and sociologists on the featured topic were drawn on to this study. It should be noted that in national historiography there were no attempts of such analysis and generalization of views and conclusions of authors, who belonged to different eras and have been writing about serfdom. The proposed research allows to take a fresh look at the exploration of the problem of the serfdom period and to mark new directions for investigation.