The famous remark of V. O. Klyuchevsky that “historical writers are united by one common quality - they equally do not know history,” can be turned into another side, throwing a similar reproach to historians, most of whom do not have sufficient knowledge of writing. The conclusion suggests itself: a historian and a writer are a combination as rare as it is happy. Here the name of Kazimir Waliszewski should be mentioned, especially since in the domestic historical and literary field he occupies an exceptional place both in his origin and in the amazing fate of the works he created. A Polish historian and writer, who, by the way, wrote in French, born in 1849. Waliszewski's series of works dedicated to Russian history of the 16th - 19th centuries brought him worldwide fame. centuries, to the study of which he devoted more than thirty years of his life - “Ivan the Terrible”. “Time of Troubles”, “The First Romanovs”, “Peter the Great”, “Daughter of Peter the Great”, “Around the Throne”, “The Kingdom of Women”, “Paul the First” and others. The last book in this series, dedicated to Alexander the First, was published in 1925 in Paris, where ten years later the author died. Genre and texture of Walishevsky's books. perhaps they have no analogues in our historical literature - despite the scientific basis, Walishevsky’s works are read like fascinating historical novels, and it is not surprising that the monograph on the reign of Catherine the Second author called the book “The Novel of the Empress” in the laws of fiction. So the question “writer or historian” is removed by the only answer, perhaps, “a writer-historian.” This combination and brought him worldwide fame. It’s funny, not to say “outlandish,” but Walishevsky’s works on Russian history were banned only in one country in the world - Russia. The ban continued until the revolution of 1905, when the censorship floodgates were raised and truly red days came for Valishevsky in our fatherland - five publishing houses began publishing his books at once; The first four volumes of Walishevsky’s complete works are also being published. However, another revolution put an end to the “red days” of the popular writer-historian - the October Revolution. Valishevsky was “closed” tightly and for a long time. However, the current times have once again confirmed the old truth that history repeats itself. Almost the only achievement of our perestroika - glasnost - also affected the literary heritage of K. Valishevsky: only in recent years In two years, a dozen of his books have been reprinted. So, it would seem, we no longer have the right to count Walishevsky’s works among bibliographic rarities. But this is not so. The fact is that only large monograph books dedicated to eras of Russian history have been republished. But until now the works of Waliszewski remain unknown to the modern reader. which tell about its individual episodes. However, blaming modern publishers for such an “omission” would not be entirely fair, since these works of the historical writer are scattered across the pages of hard-to-find pre-revolutionary periodicals, and judging by the catalogs of the “main library of the country,” they did not even receive any decent bibliography . Nevertheless, we were lucky enough to find and, to begin with, offer For readers, one of them is the historical essay “The Rebellion of Stenka Razin.” As in the above-mentioned “big” books by Valishevsky. the reader will not find here a “class assessment” of events and heroes, as well as “socio-economic prerequisites that determined the glaring contradictions”, as well as “the only correct Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist view of history” - all that, as it seems to us, , it is quite possible to get by when it comes to history and literature. But he will find here what was noted by such a strict connoisseur as L.N. Tolstoy, who considered Valishevsky’s books “very interesting” and said that this writer “conveys the main, characteristic things in a few strokes.” In addition, thanks to the author’s light, elegant style, which was not disputed even by Valishevsky’s most zealous enemies, the reader will receive an opportunity for truly fascinating reading, equally rare in this genre.

Foreword and publication by ALEXEY KAretNIKOV.

Published in the magazine “Smena” No. 2-3 for 1992.