The Scrolls’ Tale: Unveiling the Posol’skii Prikaz's Archival Legacy

• In Event: Empires of Paper: Knowledge Production, Paper Technology, and Power in Imperial and Soviet Central Asia

Abstract

This study examines the transformation of Russia’s diplomatic archival practices from the 17th to the 19th century, focusing on the evolution of the Posol’skii Prikaz and its successor, the Moscow Archive of Foreign Affairs, in managing records related to Central Asian polities. A central theme of this paper is the interplay between the materiality of archival organization, historiography and political decision-making. Examining the disconnect between archival knowledge and its application, it prompts a reevaluation of the role archives play—not merely as static repositories of information—but as dynamic entities where agency, identity, and power are continually negotiated.

Author

• Ulfat Abdurasulov, Austrian Academy of Sciences (Austria)