The American Frontier in the Works of Russian Historians: A Critical Review of Articles on Russian America Published in 2024

This study is a critical review of ten scientific articles devoted to the Russian frontier in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean and the west coast of North America in the 18th–19th centuries, where Russian colonies were formed in Alaska and California – the so-called “Russian America”. All analyzed articles were published in 2024 in various academic journals, including journals from the list of the Higher Attestation Commission. A critical study of the texts of publications revealed a rather bleak picture: with rare exceptions, the general scientific level of works by certified historians is very low. One of the reasons for this is that this topic has become much more often studied by non‑specialists, who are characterized by an extremely poor knowledge of previous historiography, absolutely insufficient use of historical sources and foreign literature, and a frequent lack of elementary logic, when the title of the work, the abstract, and conclusions do not correspond to the content of the text of the article. However, partly the same can be said about the scientists studying Russian America professionally. All this is compounded by a low citation culture and sometimes careless presentation of references and bibliographies. The situation is aggravated by the connivance of reviewers and editors, including those from journals on the “VAK” (Higher Attestation Commission) list, who do not prevent the publication of frankly weak scientific works. As a result, articles appear that are essentially low-quality compilations with a greater or lesser sprinkling of various erroneous statements, formulations, and conclusions. In this regard, it is appropriate to raise the question of the advisability of funding such creations with grants so that public funds are not spent practically in vain. The author hopes for a continuation of the discussion of the problem of scientific publications’ quality raised in the article using other historical topics as examples.