Abstract: This article is devoted to the problems of the "relapse of Pokrovshchina" – a phenomenon in the history of historical science, which was characterized by the dominance of sociologized schemes, the leveling of the role of source analysis, the lack of developments in problem areas of auxiliary historical disciplines, the primacy of modern studies to the detriment of the study of classical history. The famous Soviet Byzantine historian Mikhail Jakovlevich Sjuzjumov (1893-1982) resolutely opposed the crisis of this "growth disease". In his personal fund (GASO, F. P-802) contains letters to leading experts in various branches of historical science, where he analyzes in detail the essence of the "second edition of the Pokrovshchina" (the second half of the 1960s).
Two letters of M. Ja. Sjuzjumov are introduced into scientific circulation. One of them, dated by the author on May 5, 1965, is a response to the appeal of the editor-in-chief of the magazine "Questions of History" to Vladimir Grigoryevich Trukhanovsky (1914-2000) and a letter dated July 2, 1965 to the Soviet statesman, First Secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee Sergei Pavlovich Pavlov (1929-1993). In fact, they are journalistic articles, a reflection on the results of the All-Union Meeting on measures to improve the training of scientific and pedagogical personnel in historical sciences, convened by the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the SNK of the USSR. M. Ja. Sjuzjumov considers the popularization of historical knowledge to be a recipe for the destructive action of the Pokrovshchina.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the scientific biography of the Soviet medievalist, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Nahum Abramovich Bortnik (1911-1977). The author pays special attention to the period of the Great Patriotic War. Letters addressed to N. A. Bortnik are introduced into scientific circulation. The letter of the writer Isaac Sadykov, who worked a lot in Sverdlovsk during the Great Patriotic War, sheds light on the literary life of the city. Special attention is paid to the discussions, sometimes acute, emotional, devoid of academic chic, which flared up between M. Ja. Sjuzjumov and N. A. Bortnik. The article publishes the minutes of the meeting of the Department of General History of the Ural State University.
The author comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to reconstruct the scientific biographies of Soviet historians. This work is important for the preservation of the scientific heritage of our country. The publication of sources, in this case, is the only antidote against the tenets of "cathedral historiography" and empty references "separated by commas" in the notes for the next anniversary date.
The article is a continuation of the study of the biographies of historians who were part of M. Ja. Sjuzjumov's "inner circle" and represents an independent scientific problem.
The complete opposite of M. Ja. Sjuzjumov was undoubtedly N. A. Bortnik (1911-1977). They were separated by many things. Thus, M. Ja. Sjuzjumov belonged to the last generation of pre-revolutionary historians. Naum Abramovich Bortnik was a representative of the first generation of Soviet scientists. Professor Sjuzjumov has been developing the theory of dialectical continuity all his life; Professor Bortnik followed the "romantic school", highly appreciating the role of the masses of the people. M. Ja. Sjuzjumov saw echoes of political struggle in heretical movements; N. A. Bortnik insisted on the most important role of the leaders of the masses.

Abstract: The study of Soviet-American scientific relationships during the Cold War is an actual scientific task. In the article for the first time is published letters from the personal foundation of Professor Michael Sjuzjumov (Ural University, Sverdlovsk), which he received from Lois Hassler-Smith and Merlin Packard, librarians of the Center for Byzantine Studies at Harvard University in Dumbarton Oaks, 1960s and 1970s. In addition, the author of the article is considered the issue of official ways to exchange scientific literature with capitalist countries, which were regulated by special legislative acts. However, the contacts that scientists of the USSR and the United States independently established among themselves made it possible, avoiding unnecessary formalities, to quickly receive the latest scientific literature. The letters published in the article indicate that the correspondence of M.Ja. Sjuzjumov with the staff of the Dumbarton Oaks library lasted more than 10 years. The American side received scientific periodicals published in Sverdlovsk and teaching aids on special courses, and M.Ja. Sjuzjumov – novelties of American scientific literature and classical editions, which were previously available to him only in the capital’s libraries. The authors of the article also managed to identify an error made by the compilers of the Who Was Who at Dumbarton Oaks index, 1940–2015. This edition indicates that the library employed female employees Lois Smith and Lois Hassler. Meanwhile, the analysis of correspondence with M.Ja. Sjuzjumov and the data of the American periodical press prove presented one person – Lois Hassler-Smith.