PROBLEMS OF THE HISTORY OF CIVIL SERVICE IN PUBLICATIONS OF MODERN RESEARCHERS 2006-2010 (BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF THE RUSSIAN SCIENCE CITATION INDEX)

Abstract

This article continues a series of publications on the contemporary historiography of the history of civil service. The chronological scope of the work is 2006–2010. It reviews the articles and conference proceedings in Russian, accessible through the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI). The relevance of the study is explained by the general state of humanities scholarship, the growing number of publications, and the difficulty of mastering accumulated scientific experience. In addition to the general dialectical-materialist method, specialized research methods were used, including keyword searches, classification methods, comparative and contrastive methods, and chronological methods. Preference was given to formal methods, which allow for verification and comparison of results. The search terms “history of civil service” and “civil service history” were used. Student works and publications related to military and related specialized types of service, including “other types of civil service,” were not considered. The conclusions reached are specific and characterize the works included in the sample. The analysis of publications shows that issues in the history of civil service during the period under review are of less interest to researchers than in the subsequent five-year period. The authors address new (at the time of publication) aspects of the topic that are relevant to contemporary civil service reform. At the same time, the quality of the works is affected by a weak methodological framework, political conjuncture, and a disruption in the continuity of scientific development. A rejection of established and tested terminology and general historical research principles, in particular the periodization of Russian history, is observed. Domestic works (possibly due to their predominance in the sample) more often than articles by foreign authors violate the requirements for scientific publications