Historiography of the History of Law and the State of Russia: Pre-Revolutionary and Soviet Periods

Introduction. The historiographic experience of studying the history of law and the state of Russia was not the subject of independent scientific analysis. Certain aspects were touched upon in the prefaces to the reprints of classical scientific works, publications of a biographical nature, in the literature reviews preceding the main part of the works. In modern humanities, there is an increasing interest in the scientific problems of the genesis and evolution of individual disciplines. The history of law and the state of Russia is a part of legal and historical knowledge and requires substantive consideration. Purpose. The goal is to determine the main conceptual approaches that have formed and developed within the framework of historical and legal science during the pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods. Methodology. The methodology is represented by a number of methods. The chronological method and the method of periodization were used to build the sequence of the historiographic process. The historical-comparative method in the diachronic version made it possible to compare the content of the pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods in the historiography of the issue, to reveal the features of each period. The institutional method showed the process of delimiting the history of law and the state of Russia from other scientific disciplines. The method of hermeneutics was necessary for the textual analysis of works of legal and historical content. Results. The process of institutionalization of the history of law and state of Russia is shown. As a result, this led to the emergence of its own historiography within its framework. The main research directions are systematized; the factors that influenced the development of historical and legal science in the pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods are identified; a circle of scholars dealing with historical and legal problems has been established; the most significant publications are indicated. Conclusion. Two periods of the historiography of the history of law and the state of Russia are highlighted and characterized. The basis for the study of the next modern period is being created.