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Sergey Mikhaylovich Solovyov, sometimesSoloviev orSolovyev (Russian:Серге́й Миха́йлович Соловьёв; 17 May [O.S. 5 May] 1820, inMoscow – 16 October [O.S. 4 October] 1879, in Moscow), was one of the influentialRussian historians whose influence on the next generation of Russian historians (Vasily Klyuchevsky,Dmitry Ilovaisky,Sergey Platonov) was paramount. His older sonVsevolod Solovyov was a historical novelist. His sonVladimir Solovyov was one of the most influential Russian philosophers. His youngest child, daughterPolyxena Solovyova, was a noted poet and illustrator.[1]
Solovyov studied in theMoscow University underTimofey Granovsky and traveled in Europe as a tutor of CountStroganov's children until 1844. The following year he joined the staff of theMoscow University, where he rose to the position of dean and then rector (1871–77). He also administrated theKremlin Armoury and acted as tutor to the futureAlexander III of Russia.
Solovyov's magnum opus was theHistory of Russia from the Earliest Times, unprecedented in its scope and depth. From 1851 until his death, he published 29 volumes of this work. Among his other books, theHistory of Poland's Downfall (1863) and thePublic Readings on Peter the Great (1872) were probably the most popular.
Solovyov appreciated Russia's position as the outpost ofChristianity in the East. In his opinion, the Russian statehood resulted from a "natural and necessary development" of numerous political and social forces, which he attempted to trace. He took particular interest in theTime of Troubles andPeter the Great's reforms, which he described as temporary diseases of the organism of the Russian state.
In the words of the 2004Encyclopædia Britannica, hisHistory "wove a vast body of data into a unified and orderly whole that provided an exceptionally powerful and vivid picture of Russia's political development over the centuries. The work inaugurated a new era in Russian scholarship with its depiction of Russia as evolving through organic and rational processes from a primitive, family-based society into a centralized, autocratic state".
His bookHistory of Russia from the Earliest Times is mentioned inFyodor Dostoevsky's famous novelThe Idiot.[2]
