AN INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTION BY ROBERT CONQUEST TO THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE HOLODOMOR

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to identify the conceptual approaches and factual priorities of Robert Conquest, set out in his monograph ‘Harvest of Sorrow’, which became a world bestseller. Research methodology. The article is written in historiographical terms with elements of intellectual biography, i.e. scientific coverage by the Conquest of the Soviet political system, socio-demographic consequences of its functioning, the interaction of government and society, the party nomenclature and the person. Chronological and comparative methods of historical research have provided a systematic retrospective analysis of the scientific biography of the scientist, the evolution of his views, conceptual interpretations of events and phenomena. The bibliographic approach focused the scientific heritage of the scientist around his main work – ‘Harvest of Sorrow’, contributed to the understanding of a certain theoretical continuity of the scientist, his observance of the canons of Western political science and historiography. Scientific novelty. For the first time, the historiographical work of American scientistis the subject of academic study, because
the positive reviews, critical feedbacks of the opponents, and ceremonial journalistic articles in the U.S. press and in
some scientific journals did not address the basics of the book itself. The article highlights fragments of structural
changes that the book ‘Harvest of Sorrow’ has undergone as a result of its Russian and Ukrainian translations.
Compared to the author's interpretation, there are terms that Conquest did not use. It is noted the organizational
and consulting assistance of colleagues in the preparation of the publication, however, it is proved the personal
participation of the author in writing the text of the book, in its conceptual approaches inherent in certain sections
of his previous work – ‘Great Terror’. Conclusions. The monograph ‘Harvest of Sorrow’ is not a coincidence, not
a formal fulfillment of the author's social order of the Ukrainian diaspora, but a completely logical realization of his
worldview, moral and ethical qualities, intellectual potential and professional skills. He became the first Western
scientist to write an analytical work about the Holodomor, used the term ‘famine terror,’ and showed its ideological
origins and applications.