M. Mysl'. 1983. 157 p.

Soviet historians have made considerable progress in the study of methodological problems1 over the past decade . However, the dynamism of the spiritual life of the society of developed socialism urgently requires further raising the level of works on history by expanding their problems and fully improving the methods of scientific work, methods of solving specific research problems. A new book by Professor N. N. Maslov, Head of the Department of History of the CPSU AON under the Central Committee of the CPSU, Honored Scientist of the RSFSR, Doctor of Historical Sciences, enriches the development of proolem methodology

1 Gorodetsky E. N. Lenin-the founder of Soviet Historical Science, Moscow 1970; Varshavchik M. A., Spirin L. M. O nauchnykh osnovakh izucheniya istorii CPSU (Vvedenie v istoriko-partiynuyu nauku), Moscow 1978; Voprosy metodologii istoriko-partiynoi nauki. Kiev, 1980; and others.

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history of the CPSU. Unlike his previous works, 2 here N. N. Maslov systematizes what was achieved earlier and comprehensively reveals the fundamental theoretical and practical issues of the content and application of historical research methods, characterizes the Marxist-Leninist methodology as a universal methodology of modern science.

The author takes into account the results of the discussion on methodology issues that took place in 1976-1978 on the pages of the journal "Questions of the History of the CPSU", during which the need for further development of methodological problems of historical and party science was emphasized .3 It draws on the fundamental ideas of Karl Marx, F. Engels, and V. I. Lenin and analyzes their research experience. Considering methodology in a complex - as the theory of historical knowledge and cognitive practice, as the doctrine of methods and the methods themselves implemented in the practice of historical knowledge, the author reveals this multi-layered system at different levels, depending on the proximity to the fundamental theory (methods of knowledge) or to research practice (research methods).

Among the main methods used in historical and party research, N. N. Maslov identifies three general scientific methods: historical, logical and classification method. The universal historical method, the author states, allows reproducing each phenomenon as a process in development, with all its general, special and individual features, with the greatest possible completeness and concreteness. He notes that V. I. Lenin left unfading examples of the use of the historical method in the analysis of specific historical and political phenomena and processes, and revealed the essence of this method and how to apply it (p.40). For researchers of the history of the CPSU, it is of particular importance to master the methodology of analyzing the alternativeness of the situation, the invariance of the historical process, which provides the key to a deep disclosure of the mobilizing and guiding role of the party in socialist construction. "Unfortunately," notes N. N. Maslov, " in the modern historical and party literature... the authors do not always take into account the alternative nature of the historical process and often consider the prospects for the development of certain phenomena only in one optimal variant " (p. 50).

The attention that the book pays to the application of the logical method of cognition in historical science is also fully justified. It gives researchers the opportunity, abstracting from details and particulars and relying on concrete historical data, to reveal the essence and regularities of the phenomenon under study, which do not lie on the surface, but only as a tendency are expressed in it. Despite their differences, the author emphasizes that historical and logical methods are closely related and are in dialectical unity (p. 51).

A historian dealing with numerous and diverse facts, events, and phenomena has to bring them into a certain system, group them, and identify similarities and differences between them. Here he is helped by the classification method, which is also discussed in detail in the book. Scientific classification, the author notes, is necessary not only for ordering the material under study, but also for creating a theory. The classification method facilitates the selection of material, encourages the development of new terminology, helps to identify regular connections and discover the laws of the historical process (p. 62).

A significant place in the book is devoted to the application of special historical methods in historical and party science. N. N. Maslov divides them into two groups (p. 68): the first is related to the historical general scientific method (synchronous, chronological, diachronic, or periodization method); the second-to the logical general scientific method (the method of historical parallels, or comparative-historical; historical modeling, or retrospective; structural-system; actualization). Historical events and phenomena occurring at the same time are diverse and complex. Their simultaneous study, as shown in the book, prevents arbitrary snatching of some facts, downplaying the significance of others, and ensures the objectivity of research.

Among special historical methods, N. N. Maslov distinguishes chronological, which helps to study events and phenomena in their sequence, movement, and change-

2 Maslov N. N. Metodologiya istoricheskogo issledovaniya (Vvedenie v metodologiyu istoriko-partiynoi nauki) [Methodology of Historical Research (Introduction to the methodology of Historical and Party Science)]. Voprosy metodologii istorii partii v trudakh V. I. Lenin [Issues of Party History methodology in the Works of V. I. Lenin].

3 See Voprosy istorii CPSU, 1978, N 12, p: 94.

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research institutes. Avoiding chaotic accumulation of past events and deeds, the chronological method provides disclosure of the dynamics of phenomena and historical facts, identifying patterns of movement and development, and the content of the events under study. One cannot but agree with the author's statement about the fruitfulness of the problem-chronological method, which acts as a kind of chronological one.

The book notes that although the development of theoretical aspects of the periodization of the history of the CPSU has advanced in recent years, in practice, some researchers, especially beginners, still understand periodization narrowly, only as one of the technical techniques of historical and party research and, as a result, they build on a random, to some extent subjective, basis. N. N. Maslov draws attention to some inaccuracies that have appeared in the literature due to an insufficiently strict approach to the application of the periodization method (pp. 86-87, 93-95). Emphasizing that the historical process can be subdivided into time segments of different duration, the author suggests adhering to the following system of concepts that are subordinated: epoch-stage-period-stage, and quite convincingly argues for this proposal (pp. 85-87).

There is no objection to the author's observation that the use of the method of historical parallels, based on the establishment of similarities or differences between the phenomena studied, would give research on the history of the CPSU and party construction greater brightness and evidence (p.104).

N. N. Maslov deeply analyzes the retrospective structural-system method and the method of actualization. Rejecting the simplified approach to understanding relevance only as the proximity of the studied events to the present, he notes that relevance is determined primarily by the extent to which this research contributes to the enrichment of science, the increment of scientific knowledge, and how it helps the party in solving modern ideological and political tasks (p.124).

N. N. Maslov's description of the methods of related sciences used in the history of the CPSU is very useful. In many aspects, the party's history is intertwined with philosophy, political economy, scientific communism, social psychology, pedagogy, and other social sciences. Therefore, the CPSU historian, along with using the actual historical research methods, often resorts to the methods of related sciences. Of these, the book discusses the following: statistical (mathematical), specific social (sociological) research, social psychology.

N. N. Maslov's analysis and systematization of the methods of historical and party research enrich the scientific tools that historians can use to qualitatively improve their works, achieve new successes in studying and scientifically covering the historical experience of the CPSU, the laws of development and activity of the party at various stages of the revolutionary struggle, the construction of developed socialism and its improvement. The author's conclusion is true that it is impossible to know historical events and reveal the objective laws underlying them with the help of individual research methods alone; the researcher must master perfectly all the variety of methods of historical research in order to use them to recreate a picture of events that is adequate to reality.

The book not only theoretically reveals the system of methods of historical research, but also, what is especially important, on concrete examples of scientific works on the history of the CPSU, party construction highlights both positive experience and typical shortcomings and mistakes of individual authors in the practical application of these methods.

The reviewed work of N. N. Maslov is a multi-faceted work that touches on a wide range of problems of methodology of historical science. Not all questions are fully and comprehensively covered. However, their very formulation, as well as the fact that the author does not ignore the remaining unresolved or controversial issues, will contribute to further in-depth study of this important and relevant topic, achieving a higher ideological, theoretical and scientific level and the practical significance of historical research.

In the future, it is advisable to pay more attention to the method of economic analysis, its significance for characterizing the effectiveness of the socio-economic policy of the party and the Soviet state, and the use of social psychology methods in historical research. The urgent task also seems to be the further development of

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scientific development of the periodization method. While paying tribute to the author's skilful correlation of general scientific and special historical methods, as well as those borrowed from related sciences, with the object of studying the history of the CPSU, it should be noted that the task of identifying and applying "special research methods" (p.13) of the party's history is still waiting to be solved.

No matter how important it is to thoroughly cover the methods of historical and party research, it is even more important to develop the problem of using these methods as a system in which all of them are organically connected with each other and are in interaction, complementing each other. Such integration of research methods will contribute to further improving the theoretical and methodological level of historical party works and professional qualifications of researchers.

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