Archive of A.Z. Manfred (the letters of Soviet historians to A.Z. Manfred)
Poghosyan Varoujean
The personal archive of the outstanding Soviet historian Albert Manfred (1906-1976), which is kept in the research department of manuscripts in the Russian State Library, is very rich. The numerous materials available there shed light on his versatile and stable scientific ties not only with Soviet but also with eminent foreign historians, regardless of their political orientations, as well as with prominent French politicians of the XX century. This publication includes unpublished letters of many Soviet historians addressed to Albert Manfred in 1959-1976. Outstanding scientists Militsa Nechkina, Victor Dalin, Feodor Potemkin, Abgar Ioannisyan are among them. The published letters written by his colleagues living in various Soviet republics (Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine) and Russian cities, eloquently testify undisputed scientific authority, which Albert Manfred rightly enjoyed among them as the biggest connoisseur of the new history of France. It is pertinent to note that some of the published writings include information on his outstanding role as the organizer of French Studies, as well as the vicissitudes of the translation of his book about Napoleon Bonaparte in different languages of the USSR.