Historian of Napoleon who won world renown, survived Academic Case exile, and returned under Stalin's personal protection
In autumn 1951, amid the anti-Semitic campaign, Tarle began his first MGIMO lecture: "I am not French, but a Jew, and my surname is pronounced Tarle."
Kiev-born Jewish historian, the USSR's preeminent Western history scholar. His 'Continental Blockade' (1913) won international acclaim. Exiled in the 'Academic Case,' he was rehabilitated after Stalin noticed his 1936 'Napoleon,' winning three Stalin Prizes.
Career Timeline
- 1896Graduated from Kiev University (St Vladimir) History-Philology Faculty under Ivan Luchitsky
- 1900–1903Arrested at a Marxist circle meeting with Lunacharsky, exiled to Kherson; began lecturing as privat-docent at St Petersburg University
- 1909–1911Doctoral dissertation 'Working Class in France during the Revolution' (2 vols); published 'The Continental Blockade' 1913
- 1913–1918Professor at Yuryev (Tartu) University; read paper at London International Congress of Historical Studies
- 1918–1927Headed Petrograd department of RSFSR Central Archives; corresponding member (1921), full academician (1927)
- 1929–1932Arrested in 'Academic Case'; exiled to Almaty August 1931, returned to Leningrad late 1932
- 1936–1939Published 'Napoleon' (1936) — Stalin's attention led to rehabilitation; 'Napoleon's Invasion of Russia' (1937), 'Talleyrand' (1939)
- 1941–1945Professor at Kazan University (1941–1943); 'Crimean War' vols 1–2; member of Extraordinary State Commission on Nazi war crimes
- 1942–1955Three Stalin Prizes (1942, 1943, 1946); honorary doctorates Sorbonne, Oslo, Prague, Brno, Algiers; British Academy corresponding fellow (1944); died Jan 1955, buried Novodevichy
Related historical events
Historiographical Method and Literary Style
Tarle's historiography is distinctive for favoring vivid narrative and character portraiture over strict empiricism. His masterpiece 'Napoleon' (1936) combined vast archival research with a novelist's touch to render a full life, catching Stalin's attention and becoming a bestseller. His prose accepted a certain liberty with facts to create dramatic tension that captivated readers, earning criticism from orthodox Marxist colleagues who saw him as closer to a 'historical writer' than a historian. But for Tarle, history was not a schema of class struggle but the story of living human beings, and this is precisely why his works continue to be read. His major books include 'The Continental Blockade' (1913), 'Napoleon's Invasion of Russia' (1937), 'Talleyrand' (1939), and the two-volume 'Crimean War' (1941–1943). With honorary doctorates from the Sorbonne, Oslo, Prague, Brno, and Algiers, and a corresponding fellowship of the British Academy, he embodied Soviet historical scholarship's international standing.