Евгений Тарле: Советский тарихшы және ғалым

Soviet historian and academician (1874–1955)

Yevgeny Viktorovich Tarle (Евгений Викторович Тарле; 27 October 1874 [O. S. 8 November 1874] – 6 January 1955) was a Ukrainian and Soviet historian and academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is known for his books about Napoleon's invasion of Russia and on the Crimean War, as well as many other works. Yevgeny Tarle was one of the founders of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Russia's diplomatic university.

Born Grigory Tarle in Kyiv, Russian Empire (modern day Ukraine) into a prosperous Jewish family, he adopted the name Yevgeny in 1893 following his baptism to Orthodox Christianity at Saint Sophia's Cathedral in order to marry Olga Grigorievna Mikhailova, who belonged to Russian nobility. His father, Viktor Grigorievich Tarle, came from Merchantry Social Estate and ran a shop in Kyiv; he also translated books from Russian to German, including Fyodor Dostoyevsky's works. Yevgeny's mother, Rozalia Arnoldovna Tarle, was a housewife who dedicated herself to raising children. He had four siblings. In 1892, Tarle completed the gymnasium in Kherson and entered the Imperial Novorossiya University on Fyodor Uspensky's recommendation. Within a year, he moved to the University of Kyiv to study history and philosophy. He was "the most distinguished student of Ivan Vasilevich Luchitski (1845–1918) of the University of Kyiv". After finishing his undergraduate education in 1896, he continued there as a graduate student in history.

As a student, Tarle joined Marxist clubs and took an active part in the social democratic movement. He frequently visited Kyivan factory workers as a lecturer and agitator. On 1 May 1900, he was arrested during a secret meeting in the middle of Anatoly Lunacharsky's speech. Tarle was sent to Kherson under police supervision and was forbidden to teach at Imperial universities and gymnasiums. In August, he and his wife could move to Warsaw, where they spent about a year. During that time, he published articles on history in various magazines. In 1901, he was also allowed a two day visit to St. Petersburg to defend his master's thesis on Thomas More. With the support of colleagues he was finally given permission to work as a privatdozent at the University of St. Petersburg in 1903, a position he held until 1917. To achieve his doctoral degree, he completed a two volume dissertation about France. His interest in France increased in time: he completed another work on the economic history of France in 1916. From 1913 to 1918, he also served as a professor at the University of Tartu.

From 1903 to 1914, Tarle traveled to France yearly. From 1918 on, he also headed the Petrograd department of the Central Archives of RSFSR. He soon became a professor at Moscow University and moved to Moscow. In 1921, he became a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, becoming a full member in 1927. He was also active in the Russian Association of Scientific Institutes for Research in the Social Sciences (RANION). From 1922 to 1924, he published an Annually journal of general history along with Fyodor Uspensky. Tarle had achieved distinction as a specialist in modern history through his book, Europe in the Age of Imperialism. During 1928–1931, Tarle was frequently criticized by his colleagues in articles published in Istorik Marksist and in Borba Klassov. Between 1929 and 1931, a group of prominent historians were arrested by the State Political Directorate following the Academic Case (also known as The Case of Platonov). They were accused of hatching a plot to overthrow the Soviet government. In 1930, Tarle was arrested as well, accused of "being an "interventionist" and a "traitor" destined to be the foreign minister in a restored capitalist government". On 8 August 1931, he was exiled to Almaty where he spent the next four years. His wife Olga Tarle (1874–1955) died the same year, just a month later, and was buried near him. They lived together for over 60 years. They had two adult children (d. and s.), both working in mathematical economy.