Ancient Studies During the Great Patriotic War: Teaching Practices in Higher Education

The article examines the ideological pressure to which the institutions of Soviet historical science were subjected during the Great Patriotic War and the changes that took place in their work. Particular attention is paid to the situation in the departments of ancient history in higher education and strategies for adapting curricula and courses. The work analyzes the traces of these processes on the example of the issues of the “Historical Journal” for the period 1941–1945. As a result, the authors conclude that the history of antiquity in higher education institutions, within the framework of the general model of the humanities, met the requirements of the social order and created narratives aimed at strengthening patriotism through the study of stories and characters of their period. Most of the specialized courses are devoted to the history of Slavic antiquity and their connections with Byzantium. General disciplines on the history of the ancient period witness the actualization of topics aimed at exposing fascist falsifications of history, due to which it pays attention to the images of patriots in antiquity and to the civilizations that emerged on the territory of the USSR.