Tamara Alekseevna Pertseva,
Candidate of Historical Siences (History), Irkutsk State University, Irkutsk, Russia; State Archive of Irkutsk Region, Irkutsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Foundation of the Irkutsk Decembrist Scholar S.F. Koval in the Irkutsk Region National Archive
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2025-6-10
The article provides a general overview of the personal fund of Irkutsk historian S.F. Koval, stored in the GAIO (the Irkutsk Region National Archive) (R‑3303). For the first time, the documents were submitted to the GAIO by S.F. Koval in 1986 in the quantity of 25 cases for 1958−1975. By the late 12th century, the Archive received 312 more cases. The final registration of the S.F. Koval Foundation took place after his death in December 2005. To date, the fund documentary part includes 1,638 storage units, according to the second inventory (photographic materials) 269. Decembrist materials make up approximately 65–70 % of the total volume. The beginning of the introduction into the materials circulation of the S.F. Koval Foundation was laid by N.P. Matkhanova, who prepared for publication his correspondence with an academician M.V. Nechkina on the creation of the Polar Star series and work on it until 1985. The author of this article points out the main directions of the scientist’s activity and the nature of the materials deposited in this fund. The documents allow us to trace the origin of his interest in the Decembrist theme, gradually developing research methods of working with documentary sources, many of which became basic in his further academic and teaching activities. Of particular interest to historians is the study of variants of academic works by a scholar. Comparing these options with the published outcome, one can see which aspects of the problem under consideration have intensified or, conversely, receded into the background, as the author’s interpretation of certain facts has changed. Of particular importance is the complex of materials related to Koval’s preparation of his main twenty−year work, the volume dedicated to N.A. Bestuzhev in the series “Polar Star”. To one degree or another, this problem has been addressed in 40 cases. The largest array consists of materials related to his work on the editorial board of the documentary series “Polar Star”. S.F. Koval’s work as a deputy editor-in-chief was reflected in his correspondence with the compilers of 24 volumes and with members of the Moscow editorial board (M.V. Nechkina, S.V. Zhitomirskaya, I.D. Kovalchenko, N.Ya. Eidelman, V.A. Fedorov) regarding their readiness for publication. Among the letters of historians, the correspondence of B.G. Kubalov deserves special attention. Along with discussing the issues of interest, it contains advice from a senior scholar to a young author not only regarding research work, but also regarding relationships with colleagues and students. There are many letters in the Irkutsk historian’s fund from Decembrists’ descendants, as well as amateurs of Russian history − teachers, journalists, residents of those places where the Decembrists served their exile. The documents also make it possible to clarify the role of S.F. Koval in the appearance of the Irkutsk Decembrist Museum and in the All-Union competition for the monument design to the Decembrists in Irkutsk.
Publishing: 28/12/2025
The article has been received by the editor on 28/10/2025
How to cite: Pertseva T.A. The Foundation of the Irkutsk Decembrist Scholar S.F. Koval in the Irkutsk Region National Archive // Historical Courier, 2025, No. 6 (44), pp. 158−166. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2025/ISTKURIER-2025-6-10.pdf]
Links: Issue 6 2025
Keywords: S.F. Koval; Decembrist studies; archival materials; foundation; series “Polar Star”; collection “Siberia and the Decembrists”; correspondence; descendants of the Decembrists