The Civil War of 1917–1922 in Russian Popular Science Publications on the Example of the Magazine “Rodina” for 1989–1996

In the article the content analysis of all publications of the magazine “Rodina” for 1989–1996 devoted to the Russian Civil War (1917–1922) is made. 37 articles are used to trace the changes in assessments of events and shifts of emphasis in the study of the topic. The magazine “Rodina” was chosen as the object of the study as one of the largest in Russia historical publications of popular science character. The chronological framework of the study is chosen according to the following criteria: The year 1989 is a turning point not only in the political life of the country, it also became such for historical science. On the pages of periodicals there appeared more and more criticism of the Soviet era as a whole, the events of 1917 were condemned. At the same time, some researchers put forward proposals to take a new look at the events of the first years of Soviet power, without denying their positive significance in general.The article evaluates all publications by year. Moreover, the peak of publications about the Civil War is in 1990. October 1993 is followed by a decline of almost two years. The year 1996 is chosen as the final point for two reasons. In connection with the presidential elections and the threat of communist revenge, the authors return after a long break (in 1994 and 1995) to the theme of the Civil War. Inaddition, in 1996 the first collection of scientific articles summarizing the first period of post-Soviet historiography of this topic was published in Russia. The general conclusion of the article is that the journal Rodina 1989–1996 is an example of an objective popular science publication, whose authors, sharing new knowledge with readers, do not offer a single concept, but invite to discussion and comprehension of their past.