Collective diary of pupils in Bolotnoye (1944–1945): research experience

Abstract

The article presents research into the diary of students from Secondary School No. 2 in Bolotnoye, Novosibirsk Region (1944–1945), a handwritten document created by teenagers and circulated within a small school group. It is shown how, based on the text of the source and related materials, its authors were identified, and the ways of verification of the obtained is also
covered. Special attention is paid to the visual design of the document, which is its unique feature, as well as the historical context of the events described in the diary. The two parts of the diary are analyzed through Alexei Yurchak’s concepts, including “authoritative discourse”, “master-signifier”, “constative and performative utterances”, “agency”. On this basis the conclusion is drawn about two opposite authorial strategies, according to which the diary was created, and about the performative shift that occurs as a result. The final part of the article traces the biographies of some of the diary’s authors and heroes in the light of the role they played during their school years.

Keywords: Bolotninsky diary, collective diary, class diary, author’s strategy, constative utterance, performative utterance, performative shift, Alexei
V. Yurchak