“The history of the tsarist prison can only be written only under the conditions of the Soviet system”: M. N. Gernet and the Formation of the Soviet Historiography of Penitentiary Policy

The year 2024 marked the 150th birthday of Mikhail Nikolayevich Gernet, a major Russian scholar, criminologist, penitentiary scientist and historian. Gernet was honoured with the State Prize of the USSR. It is noteworthy that Gernet’s scholarly career preceded 1917, a period that did not hinder his significant contributions to Soviet legal science. The article is devoted to an overview of the professional path of the author of the five-volume History of the Tsarist Prison, who began his research at an advanced age, being blind and having endured years of persecution for his ‘inability to perceive Marxist-Leninist ideology’. The study draws on documents from the personal archive of M. N. Gernet, collected in the NIOR RGB, represented by manuscripts, materials related to teaching and research activities, as well as letters written by Gernet and members of his family, and photographs. Most of the materials have not yet been incorporated into scholarly literature. The study is a thorough and methodical examination of a wide range of historical sources, including archival documents, normative-legal acts, statistical data, and visual materials. This comprehensive approach enabled the creation of a detailed historical and legal profile of prison policy in Tsarist Russia. The study also explores the activities of the prison service, charitable organisations, the church, and individuals in the execution of criminal punishments. The History of the Tsarist Prison is an informative study with unique features of the unified Soviet narrative of historiography. It is relevant in professional circles and at present.