THE SCHOLARLY LEGACY OF M.D. BEREZOVCHUK IN THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEES OF POOR PEASANTS: A HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32999/ksu2786-5118/2026-55-4Keywords:
agrarian policy, historiography, committees of poor peasants (CPPs), M. D. Berezovchuk, Soviet historiography, Soviet power, Ukrainian peasantryAbstract
The article presents a comprehensive historiographical analysis of M. D. Berezovchuk’s scholarly legacy in the study of the committees of poor peasants (CPPs) in Ukraine. The research is relevant because Soviet historiography requires reassessment and Berezovchuk’s place in the study of the CPPs needs clearer definition. Although his works strongly influenced views of the CPPs in the social and political life of the Ukrainian countryside, his scholarly legacy has not previously been the subject of a separate comprehensive study. Purpose of the study. To identify the main features of Berezovchuk’s approach to CPP history, determine his contribution to the study of the subject, and examine how his works are used and assessed in contemporary Ukrainian and Englishlanguage scholarship. Methodological framework. The study combines the principles of historicism, objectivity, and systematic analysis with historical-biographical, problem-chronological, historiographical, and comparative-historical methods. Conclusions. The article examines the main areas of Berezovchuk’s research on the CPPs. His major contributions were the synthesis of a substantial body of sources, the systematization of knowledge about CPP activity, and the introduction of documentary materials into scholarship. His works strongly influenced Soviet historiography of the subject. However, the Marxist-Leninist theory of class struggle led him to present the CPPs as a natural pillar of Soviet power. As a result, he paid too little attention to regional differences, the internal diversity of the peasantry, and conflicts between the state and the countryside. The research finds that English-language historians used Berezovchuk’s works selectively. James E. Mace and Daria Mattingly drew factual information from them but explained the role of the CPPs through political control, coercion, and the participation of local agents in Soviet policy. Berezovchuk’s works therefore remain important for the materials they contain and for understanding Soviet historical writing. Contemporary scholars check his conclusions against other sources and often revise them.
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