Correspondence of F.V. Bulgarin and K.F. Kalaydovich

Abstract

For the first time, the correspondence of the writer, journalist, publisher Faddey Bulgarin with the historian and archeographer Konstantin Kalaidovich is published in full. The article introduces into scientific circulation their letters for 1822–1824, mainly devoted to the materials of the historical St. Petersburg journal “Northern Archive,” the publication of which was undertaken by F.V. Bulgarin. K.F. Kalaidovich, who lived in Moscow, was an experienced employee of the Archive of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs and the chief superintendent of the Commission for the Printing of State Letters and Treaties. He helped the journal with the communication of valuable documents on the history of medieval Rus’ and the Moscow kingdom of the 15th–17th Centuries, having prepared more than 10 publications for the “Northern Archive” in five years. Kalaidovich also acted as an intermediary between Bulgarin and his fellow historians, members of the “circle” of a patron of art, fascinated by national history, Count N.P. Rumyantsev. The publication touches upon the issues of organizing historical research, the controversy around the “History of the Russian State” by N.M. Karamzin, journal policy in Russia in the 1st quarter of the 19th century, and payment for journal publications.