Background
GREKOV, Boris was born on April 22, 1882 in Mirgorod, now Poltava Oblast.
GREKOV, Boris was born on April 22, 1882 in Mirgorod, now Poltava Oblast.
1901-1905 studied at Warsaw University. 1907 graduate Moscow University.
From 1910 teacher at higher educational institutions in St. Petersburg, Perm’, Simferopol’ and Moscow. 1920's-early 1930’s professor, Leningrad University and member, Permanent Historical and Archeological Commission, USSR Academy of Sciences. 1937-1953 director, Institute of History, USSR Academy of Sciences and professor, Moscow University.
Simultaneously 1944-1946 director, Institute of Material Culture (now Institute of Archeology), USSR Academy of Sciences. 1947-1951 director, Institute of Slavic Languages and Lit. USSR Academy Sciences.
1946-1953 acad secretary. Department of History and Philosophy, USSR Academy of Sciences. From 1946 also head, Chair of USSR History, Academy of Social Sciences, Central Committee, Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Very active in the campaign against M. N. Pokrovskiy’s historical school and against the ’’nationalistic” teaching of the Ukraine historian M. S. Grushevskiy. After the collapse of these schools, headed so-called ’’anti- Norman” school of Soviet historiography. In this connection rejected the formal juridical treatment of feudalism, criticized thesis of slavo-holding and mercantile nature of the Eastern Slav’s development, introducing conception of developed agriculture and feudalism.
Also advanced the theory of transition of Eastern Slavs from communed structure to feudalism, by-passing the slave- holding stage. Founded and directed acad publ Ocherki istorii SSSR (Outline History of the USSR) and helped publish document collections, including Krepostnaya manufaktura v Rossii (Feudal Industry in Russia) (4 volume, 1930-1934) andPravda Russkaya (Russian Truth) (2 volume, 1940-1947). Deputy, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Supreme Soviet of 2nd convocation and USSR Supreme Soviet of 3rd convocation.
1941-1945 Presidium member, Slavic Committee. 1949-1950 member, Permanent Committee, World Peace Congress. From 1951 deputy chairman, USSR Peace Committee.
Every religion forces people to rely on outside authority, thus depriving them to become self-sufficient.
Every Soviet citizen has rights to express his or her opinion, but it should be in accordance with the general interests of the society.
Member, USSR Academy of Sciences from 1935. Member, USSR Academy of Architecture from 1939. Member, Polish and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Honorary member, Belorussian Academy of Sciences from 1947.