Mikhail Tikhomirov

Born May 19 (31), 1893, in Moscow; died there Sept. 2, 1965. Soviet historian. Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1953; corresponding member, 1946).

After graduating from the faculty of history and philology of Moscow University in 1917, Tikhomirov engaged in museum, library, and teaching work. Beginning in 1934, he taught in the history department of Moscow State University and in other higher educational institutions. He became affiliated with the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1935 and subsequently joined the staff of the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. From 1953 to 1957 he served as academician-secretary of the Department of History of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. In 1956 he became chairman of the Archaeographic Commission.

Tikhomirov’s principal works are devoted to the history of the Russian and other Soviet peoples, Byzantine history, Serbian history, general problems of the history of the Slavs, the study of sources, archaeography, and historiography. His Russia in the 16th Century (1962) made a fundamental contribution to historical geography. A number of his works are concerned with the economic, political, and cultural ties between the peoples of the USSR. Many of his monographs and articles deal with problems of the socioeconomic, political, and cultural history of the early Russian city, popular movements in Russia from the 11th through the 17th century, the state institutions of feudal Russia, the zemskie sobory (national assemblies) of the 16th and 17th centuries, and the work of the prikazy (central administrative offices).

Tikhomirov was one of the leading specialists in paleography and auxiliary historical disciplines. His study and publication of written monuments reflected a broad historical and philological background. In a work devoted to the Russkaia Pravda (Russian Law), he shed new light on the most important problems connected with the creation of this monument. Tikhomirov was responsible for the resumption of the publication of the series Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles. In 1961 he published the Sobornoe Ulozhenie (Assembly Code) of 1649 and the Merilo Pravednoe (Just Measure). Tikhomirov led Soviet archaeographers in seeking out and describing unknown manuscripts; under his direction work began on creating a comprehensive catalog of the unique manuscripts preserved in the USSR. The manuscripts he personally collected were presented by him to the Siberian Division of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

In 1959, Tikhomirov became a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He was awarded the Order of Lenin, two orders of the Red Banner of Labor, and various medals.