О значении научного наследия В. С. Меметова
On the significance of V. S. Memetov’s scientific heritage

Summary/Abstract: It is noted that a thorough systemic reflection on the scholarly views of V. S. Memetov, one of the most distinguished representatives of intelligentsia studies, has not been properly conducted yet. In the context of this problem, an attempt is made to consider his scientific work in some of its aspects that reflect the scholar’s contribution to intelligentsia studies. The author’s perspective is based on the principles of historicism and scientific objectivity. The paper uses the historical-genetic method, the historicalbiographical method and the statistical method. The analysis is done in the context of identifying the main stages of V. S. Memetov’s academic biography. A generalized description of the scholar’s papers pertaining to the Soviet period of his studies is given. It is indicated that these papers represent an important result of studying the Soviet intelligentsia during the Great Patriotic War. It is noted that since the 1990s, V. S. Memetov’s academic interests have been gradually expanding. Initially, he actively develops the historical and culturological tradition of comprehending the lives of the Russian intelligentsia. Since the mid-1990s, the scholar enters the «wide civilizational spaces» in intelligentsia studies, focusing on the theoretical and methodological aspects. His role in reaching new milestones as well as in rationally combining the traditions and innovations in this area of scientific research is explained. V. S. Memetov’s contribution to the establishment of institutional mechanisms for intelligentsia research is assessed. It is emphasized that he placed a great focus on facilitating communication between the Soviet and Russian generations of intelligentsia historians. The scholar’s contribution to the development of the strategy for the interdisciplinary intelligentsia studies discourse is described. In this context, a number of his core ideas are analyzed. It is concluded that V. S. Memetov’s scientific heritage was one of the most notable milestones in identifying an entire era of intelligentsia’s self-discovery development at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. It has made a decisive contribution to the creation of the institutional and conceptual foundations of intelligentsia studies. For several generations of scientists, V. S. Memetov’s views have been a motivation, a theoretical and methodological reference point in scientific cognition of intelligentsia’s past, present and future.

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