ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the historians' personal biographies in order to explore the life of the historical community and its institutions across 1917. One of the main characteristics of the pre-revolutionary historical community was its heterogeneity. It is difficult to establish how many historical societies existed in Russia in the early twentieth century. The common denominator among the societies chosen by Vyacheslav von Plehve was not only their scholarly reputation, but also the leading role played by historians from among the dignitary. The Russian historical community lived an intense and rich life on the eve of the revolution. The attempt to create a new type of archive challenged the existing perception both of historical documents and of the historian's work. The mode of collaboration between the state and the historical community that evolved in Provisional Government was adversely affected by the political developments of fall 1917, but nonetheless had an impact on historians' relations with the early Soviet state.
