As you know, historiography studies the history of historical science, as well as the totality of thematic, historical studies. Therefore, the relevant specialists take their rightful place in it. However, the question arises: should there be a place for historians-writers in whose work not only (or not so much) special works are presented, but also literary and artistic works on historical topics? The question is not as simple as it might seem. It is enough to refer to the works on the history of historical science to make sure that this question is practically not raised in them1 . Approximately the same attitude to fiction historians is found in foreign generalizing works. At best, we find a phrase or two that J. W. Goethe's works of art or his travelogues also serve as a useful source for studying his epoch. 2 Works such as historical novels and historical novellas, regardless of their degree of reliability, are never included even in the most complete consolidated historiographical works .3
Meanwhile, the writings of some writers are so reliably historical that the reader can sometimes get from them no less authentic information about any era than from the research of a specialist historian. The further back in history, the more often specialists resort to studying literary works as valuable sources. For example, ancient scholars thoroughly study Homer's poems "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" in this aspect, and Medievalists - "The Tale of Igor's Regiment" and "The Song of Roland". Perhaps one day M. A. Sholokhov's "The Quiet Don" will also be valued as a historical source. But today we cannot say so, although the accuracy of Sholokhov's observations and records related to specific events has already been recorded by science .4 It is well known that O. de Balzac's "Human Comedy" gives us the most remarkable realistic history of French society... from 1816 to 1848 " 5 . Try, however, to find specific references to Balzac in the historical bibliography! Therefore, there is something to think about... In this problem, two sides of the matter are intertwined. Both of them concern, in particular, historical prose. For example, some of the works of the outstanding historian Academician E. V. Tarle can also be considered as works of art. Conversely, some biographies, such as V. Shklovsky's book on Marco Polo, are examples of a kind of historical work .6 Far from claiming to insist on the immediate inclusion of the best works of masters of historical prose in historiographic lists, we are only trying to draw the attention of specialists to this problem once again, and in this connection we want to mention the literary work of this type-

1 See: Essays on the history of Historical Science in the USSR. Vols. 1-4. Moscow, 1955-1966; Soviet Historical Science from the XX to the XXII Congress of the CPSU. Ch. 1-2. M. 1962-1963; Works of Soviet historians for 1965-1969. M. 1970; Development of Soviet historical science, 1970-1974. M. 1975; Study of national history in the USSR between the XXIV and XXV congresses of the CPSU. Issue 1-2. Moscow, 1978; Istoriya istoricheskoi nauki v SSSR [History of Historical Science in the USSR]. The Soviet period. Bibliografiya, Moscow, 1980; Izuchenie otechestvennoi istorii v SSSR mezhdu XXV i XXVI congressami CPSU, Moscow, 1982; et al.

2 Einfuhrung in das Studium der Geschichte. Brl. 1979, S. 477.

3 Напр.: La storiografia italiana negli ultimi vent?anni. Vol. I - II. Milano. 1970; Etudes historiques hongroises. I - II. Budapest. 1980, etc.

4 Semanov S. N. Some historical realities of the "Quiet Don". - Voprosy istorii, 1977, N 5.

5 K. Marx and F. Engels on Art, vol. 1, Moscow, 1957, p. 11.

6 Brief Literary Encyclopedia, Vol. 3. Moscow, 1966, p. 233; Dobin E. S. Viktor Shklovsky-plot analyst. In: Plot and Reality, L. 1976.

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He was a prominent public figure, historian and writer, such as N. A. Ravich (1899 - 1976).

Ravich was "not only an outstanding historical writer, but also a true specialist-a scholar who had professional knowledge of the past of our Homeland." 7 He also became known as the chairman of the Commission for Artistic-Historical, Historical-revolutionary, Biographical and Memoir Literature of the Board of the Union of Writers of the RSFSR. In his works, which reflect various aspects of the life of Russia and the USSR in the XVIII - XX centuries, we meet historical portraits of F. E. Dzerzhinskiy, V. V. Kuibyshev, G. V. Chicherin, A.V. Lunacharsky, N. I. Podvoysky, V. A. Antonov-Ovseenko, P. E. Dybenko, A.V. Ukhtomsky, A. N. Radishchev, N. V. Kolesnikov.. I. Novikov, A.V. Suvorov, M. I. Kutuzov, F. F. Ushakov, M. V. Lomonosov, and many other historical figures. His documentary essays about Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Austria, the Netherlands, and the countries of the East, written from travel diaries, as well as memoirs, are a kind of testimony to the era.

Of particular importance is his personal archive, which is located in the Central State Archive of Literature and Art of the USSR 8 and contains rich materials on the history of the Great October and the Civil War in the USSR, which N. A. Ravich participated in; Afghanistan and Turkey in the 1920s, where Nikolai Alexandrovich worked in the Soviet diplomatic department; various Soviet institutions culture of the 1930s, with which he was directly connected; domestic science with its outstanding representatives; and much more. A number of these materials are unique. We believe that Ravich's personal archive is still waiting for its researcher. It is obvious that studying his works from the point of view of the facts that they are full of, and the documents on which they are based, could contribute to a better understanding of the historical process both in its main manifestations and in individual colorful details.

7 Polyakov Yu. A. From the creative heritage of the historian-writer. - Voprosy istorii, 1979, N 10, p. 80.

8 TsGALI SSSR, f. 2869.

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