Doctoral Dissertation in Soviet Dissertation System: Experience of Defenses in 1930s — Early 1940s

The process of formation of the Soviet dissertation system (1920 — early 1940s) is considered. Attention is paid to the discussion of the degree of doctor of science in the 1920s, as well as the status of the doctoral dissertation in the regulations of the 1930s. It is hypothesized that the Soviet dissertation system grew out of the pre-revolutionary experience of awarding scientific degrees, but in the process of its formation it developed its own specific rituals. The hypothesis was tested on the example of dissertation disputes by M. D. Priselkov and A. I. Andreev — historians, whose entry into the scientific community began in the pre-Soviet period, and the achievement of the highest academic degree of Doctor of Science occurred at the turn of the 1930s—1940s. An assessment of the degree of continuity/gap of the Soviet dissertation system in relation to the pre-revolutionary experience has been carried out. The conclusion is drawn that the content of the disputes in the pre-war period was focused on the prerevolutionary traditions of the university system. It is argued that the scientific component of dissertation disputes at that time determined their atmosphere and content of discussions. The authors believe that the detailed transcripts of dissertation defenses in the Soviet era are an underestimated source for studying the Soviet dissertation system.