Writing History in the Archive: The Case of fhe Moscow Archive of Foreign College (Late Eighteenth – Early Nineteenth Century)

Abstract

The paper addresses the problem of interacting of visual and written components for creating of historical narrativity, and its impact on the social practices of the archival employees in the late 18th – early 19th century. The research is focused on the case of Moscow Archive of Foreign College, where a gallery of those who administered Russian foreign affairs had been collected since 1780s. This gallery was juxtaposed by a voluminous chronicle that united the Archive and the College into an indivisible institution and thus emphasized the role of the archival officials in the state affairs.