History as Ideology: Imperial Historiography in the 1830s–1840s

• In Event: Education, Ideology, and the Making of Knowledge in the Russian Empire

Abstract

This paper examines the politicization of history as a state discipline in Russia during the 1830s–1840s under Sergei Uvarov. As Minister of National Education, Uvarov promoted historians who framed the past as a tool for ideological consolidation. Analyzing pedagogical manuals and historiographical works from the Nicholas I era, the paper explores how historical narratives were shaped to serve imperial legitimacy. It further interrogates the tensions between Romantic nationalism and state-centered historiography, revealing the ideological foundations of historical methodology in the service of empire.

Author

• Marianna Petiaskina, Harvard U