Why we study history 1 2. Why and why we study history. Know the most prominent people
UNSPO OF THE TOMSK REGION
OGBOU "Vocational School No. 27"
“BE PROUD OF THE GLORY OF YOUR ANCESTORS
NOT ONLY POSSIBLE, BUT SHOULD.
NOT RESPECTING THIS IS SHAMED COUPLENESS.”
A.S. PUSHKIN.
HISTORY AS A SCIENCE. WHY DO WE STUDY HISTORY?
(lesson script).
history teacher.
Tomsk - 2013
Explanatory note.
This development is for educational institutions of the NGO and SVE system when studying the topic "History as a science" within the framework of the program on the subject "History" for groups with a complete (secondary) education.
Relevance: the need to increase motivation in studying the subject among students in the system of primary and secondary vocational education.
Stages of the lesson. Activities of the teacher and students.
1. History as a science.
The relevance of the study of the topic. Isolation of the problem. History as a science. "Fathers of History".
Activity teacher : asks questions, corrects the answers of students.
Activity students : listen to the teacher, take part in highlighting the problems that will be solved during the lesson, answer the teacher's questions.
2 Historical sciences.
Acquaintance with historical sciences.
Activity teacher : explains the task proposed to the students.
Activity students : work with the text of the textbook, choose historical sciences, arrange them on sheets and present the results of their work, form on chalkboard collage from historical sciences.
3. "Our first historian and last chronicler." N.M. Karamzin.
Acquaintance with the personality and activities of Karamzin. Presentation of his "History of the Russian State". Work with an excerpt from the work of Karamzin. "History of Russian Goverment". Excerpts from the Preface.
Activity teacher : tells, explains the task proposed to the students.
Students' activities: work with a historical text, perform tasks on the text and present the results of the work.
4. Why do we study history?
Generalization and conclusions of the lesson. Evaluation of the work of students.
Activity teacher : asks questions and corrects students' answers
Activity students : answer the teacher's questions, offer their own answers to the question "Why do we study history." Reflection.
The main "whales" of this lesson: the use of various historical sources, visibility, accessibility, motivation, the teacher is the organizer of the learning process.
The lesson helps: the development of mindfulness, memory, the ability to work with historical sources, the ability to formulate an answer, the ability to present one's work, the ability to be an attentive listener.
Lesson methodology: use of interactive teaching methods: children are active participants educational process, the teacher is the organizer of the process of cognition.
What I need:
- conditions necessary at the beginning
1. the presence of a study room and a study group with an initial level of knowledge
2. the presence of a methodically designed lesson
3. availability of material and didactic equipment
4. the desire of the guys to work creatively
- conditions necessary along the way: increasing the level of training, increasing the level of motivation for learning, mastering the skills and abilities of working with various historical sources, mastering historical culture.
List of used literature.
1. N.M. Karamzin. History of Russian Goverment. Book one. Rostov-on-Don: "Phoenix"; 1995
2.L.A.Katsva. A.L.Yurganov. History of Russia 8-15 centuries. Tutorial. Moscow: "Miros-Argus"; 1996
3. S.G. Goryainov. A.A. Egorov. History of Russia 9-18 centuries. Textbook for schools, lyceums, gymnasiums and colleges. Rostov-on-Don: "Phoenix"; 1996
4. N.A. ZAGLADIN. N.A. Simonia. Story. History of Russia and the world. Textbook 10 cells. Moscow: " Russian word»; 2008
5. Materials (Wikipedia) and illustrations of the Internet.
Lesson plan.
Program theme: History as a science.
Lesson topic: History as a science. Why do we study history?
Lesson type: combined.
The objectives of the lesson, its educational and teaching tasks:
1. At the end of the lesson, students should know:
What does the science of "history" study;
- "fathers" of the world and national history;
Historical sciences;
The personality of N.M. Karamzin;
Why do we study history.
2. During the lesson, to promote the education of students:
Respectful attitude to the cabinet of history, historical literature;
Respect for the history of your state, city, historical monuments;
Formation of historical culture.
3. During the lesson, contribute to the development of:
Skills independent work with historical information;
Ability to correctly use historical terms;
Ability to present the results of their work;
Reflections
Material and didactic equipment of the lesson.
1. Chalkboard.
2. Related illustrations
3. Sheets with historical material.
4. Sheets of A-4 format.
5. Markers.
6. Magnets.
Methodological goal: show the possibility of problematic study of history using interactive teaching methods.
Lesson script.
Leading to the topic. Teacher: “It is not only possible, but also necessary, to be proud of the glory of your ancestors. To disrespect it is shameful cowardice.” Guys, it was not by chance that I began our lesson with the words of the great Russian poet, a true patriot of his Motherland A.S. Pushkin, since these words very accurately correspond to the topic of our lesson: History as a science. Why do we study history? Guys, tell me what you want to learn at the lesson today. Students' answers: what is history, scholarly historians, why do we need history. Let's watch the history program and find out what we need to know. The program says the theme: History as a science. Know what history studies, historical sciences, historical sources. Let's together highlight the problems that we need to solve in the lesson.What studying history.What for are we studying it? And work on the following issues will help us solve our problems.
1. History as a science.
2. Historical sciences.
3. N.M. Karamzin.
4. Why do we study history.
1. History as a science.
Teacher: guys from history, you are already familiar with the basic school course, tell me what history is studying? Answer options: historical dates, personalities, cultural achievements, everything that happened in the past.
Teacher: history is a science that studies the past and present of mankind.
Teacher: guys, tell me, what parts is the story divided into? Answer: General (World) and national history.
Teacher: guys, the word history is ancient Greek in translation means a story, a story. Tell me, who is considered the founder of the science of history? Answer: Ancient Greek historian of the 6th century BC. e. Herodotus.
Teacher: shows the monuments to Herodotus and completes the answer - Herodotus traveled a lot around the Mediterranean countries and then wrote a book in which he described the countries, events, culture of the peoples of the countries in which he traveled and called this book "History" - it is considered the first historical work, and Herodotus is the father of the science of history.
Teacher: guys, who knows who is considered the founder of the history of Russia. Answer: Nestor And what historical work was he the author of? Answer: he wrote the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years". What is a chronicle? Answer: records historical events on years.
Teacher: shows pictures of Nestor and completes. A monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery in the 12th century created The Tale of Bygone Years, this work is considered the first historical work on the history of the Fatherland, which describes the events about the Eastern Slavs: their origin and way of life, the formation of statehood, religion, Russian princes.
2. Historical sciences.
Teacher: demonstrates history textbooks to students. Guys, you see different textbooks - they are the result of the work of many sciences that are considered historical. And our task is to get to know them. You have sheets of A4 format on your desks. Someone has the name of science on the sheets, someone has the definition of science. All sheets are different. Your task is to look at the proposed historical text and complete the task: either by the name of the science - to determine what it studies, or by the definition of science to determine its name. Complete the sheets with a marker and present the results of the work.
Students: work with the text, draw up sheets, then line up at the blackboard, present their sciences and form a collage of historical sciences on the board.
Historical text.
We judge the history preceding the creation of the state among the Eastern Slavs on the basis of various sources - the writings of ancient authors, ethnographic data - a science that studies the origin, settlement, culture and life of the peoples of the world; Linguistics is the science of the language spoken by a people. The science of material monuments is widely used: tools, remains of dwellings, handicrafts, etc. Archeology is the study of them.
Linguistic sources are very interesting. For example, proper names are studied by onomastics. One of its sections is toponymy - the science of geographical names.
Great help is given to the historian by heraldry (the science of coats of arms), sphragistics (the science of seals), metrology (the science of measures of weight, length, volume and area), chronology (the science of time counting systems), genealogy - the science of the origin and family ties of individuals and entire families.
Archeology is a science that studies material monuments: tools, remains of a dwelling, handicrafts, jewelry, household items.
Ethnography is a science that studies the origin, settlement, culture and life of the peoples of the world.
Linguistics is the science of the language spoken by a people.
Metrology is the science of measures of weight, length, volume and area.
Onomastics - studies proper names.
Toponymy is the study of geographical names.
Heraldry is the science of coats of arms.
Sphragistics is the science of seals.
Genealogy is the science of the origin and kinship of individuals and entire families.
Chronology is the science of number systems of time.
3. N.M. Karamzin.
Teacher: guys, tell me, without whom there would be no science of history, no historical works, no textbooks? Answer: without scholarly historians. There are many famous names of learned historians in the history of our glorious state. But I would like to introduce you today to a personality famous writer, historian Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. A.S. Pushkin wrote about him: "Our first historian and last chronicler." Why about Karamzin? (illustration of a portrait of Karamzin and the cover of his "History of the Russian State" of the 19th century). His main historical work, The History of the Russian State, became the first historical work that aroused the interest of ordinary citizens of Russia. The first eight volumes of his history appeared in 1818 and were in great demand. “Everyone, even secular women, rushed to read the history of their fatherland, hitherto unknown to them” (A.S. Pushkin). The Karamzin family comes from the Tatar prince Kara-Murza, who was baptized and transferred to the service of the great Moscow princes. The writer's father, Mikhail Yegorovich Karamzin, retired as a captain and received an estate in the Simbirsk province. Here on December 1, 1766 in the village of Karamzinka (Znamenskoye) was born future writer and historian, where he spent his childhood. Almost nothing is known about Karamzin's early years. The writer's archive perished, the surviving information is fragmentary and uncertain. He certainly received a good education. It is known that by the age of 14 he spoke French, German, Church Slavonic, read a lot, discussed what he read with friends. He continued his education in Moscow, at the boarding school Shaden, listened to lectures at the university. He studied five more languages: Latin, Greek, English, Italian and Polish. He served in the Preobrazhensky Regiment and in 1782 received the rank of captain. But military service he was not interested. In addition, he could not get a transfer to the active army, because. did not bribe the regimental secretary. Karamzin was an impressionable nature, in an eternal search for answers to questions about the meaning of the purpose of life, the future of Russia and all of humanity. He looked for answers both in Freemasonry and abroad, where he spent one year from 1789 to 1790. He returned to Russia, first to St. Petersburg, then to Moscow, where his literary activity, publisher of the Moscow Journal, where his first literary work"Letters from a Russian Traveler". After thirty years, he is seriously interested in history. Writes first historical essays: "Martha the Posadnitsa", "Natalia the Boyar's Daughter", essays on Russian antiquities. At the age of 37, Karamzin wrote a letter to M.N. Muravyov with a request to entrust him with the preparation of the History of the Russian State. October 31, 1803 was followed by the imperial decree of Alexander the First on the appointment of Karamzin as a historiographer with a salary of two thousand rubles in banknotes per year. When creating his work, Karamzin studied and processed a huge amount of historical material: Lavrentiev, Ipatiev, Trinity, Khlebnikov chronicles, the Synodal manuscript of the helmsman's book of 1282, the oldest list of "Russian Pravda", princely letters, legends of foreigners about Russia. In total, Karamzin uses about 40 chronicles to write his work, mentions more than 350 authors and book titles. In 1818, the first eight volumes of the "History of the Russian State" from ancient times to 1560 were published and went on sale, an unprecedented circulation of 3,000 copies for that time, which was sold out within a month. All of Russia read Karamzin's History. In total, Karamzin created 11 complete volumes. The 12th volume did not have time to complete. The death of Alexander the First, the uprising of the Decembrists broke Karamzin. He died on May 22, 1862, sitting in an armchair "respected by all, but not fully understood." A.S. Pushkin remarked “Karamzin is our new historian and last chronicler”, and called his “History of the Russian State” “the feat of an honest man”. And in my opinion, Karamzin's merit lies in the fact that he opened the history of the country to the citizens of the country, and believed that all citizens of the country should read its history. But why Karamzin thought so, you will now find the answer yourself.
Teacher: Now you will work independently with a historical text. Here is a map-task "History of the Russian State." (Excerpts from the preface). You need to read this passage and answer the questions after the text. Correct answers are marked in the text. Each student signs a surname on his card and, at the request of the teacher, submits it for verification for grading. After work, the guys voluntarily present their answers to the study group, after which all the cards are handed over to the teacher.
Map-task.
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (1766-1826)
"History of Russian Goverment"
(excerpts from the preface)
We love, we desire one; we love the fatherland, we wish it prosperity even more than glory; we wish that the solid foundation of our greatness never change, but the rules of wise autocracy (power) and holy faith strengthen the union of parts more and more: let Russia bloom, ... at least for a long, long time, if there is nothing immortal on earth except the soul human!"
Task 1. What definition did Karamzin give to history?
Task 2. Why, according to Karamzin, should an ordinary citizen read history?
Task 3. Who, according to Karamzin, is considered the father of Russian history?
Task 4. What sources did Nestor use to create his story?
Task 5. What does Karamzin want for his Fatherland?
Answers to the task card.
Exercise 1. “History is, in a certain sense, the sacred book of nations: the main indispensable one; a mirror of their being and activity, a tablet of revelations and rules; the covenant of ancestors to posterity; addition, explanation of the present and an example of the future.
Task 2. “But an ordinary citizen should also read history. She reconciles him with the imperfection of the visible order of things, as with a common occurrence in all ages: she consoles him in state disasters, testifying that there have been similar ones before, there have been even more terrible ones, and the state has not collapsed; it nourishes moral feelings and with righteous judgment disposes the soul to justice, which affirms our good and harmony.
Task 3. Nestor, monk of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery
Task 4. “Oral traditions of antiquity, folk historical tales, saw monuments, graves of princes; talked with nobles, elders of Kiev, travelers, residents of other regions of Russia; read Byzantine chronicles, church notes.
Task 5. Prosperity, glory, wise power, holy faith, prosperity.
4. Why do we study history?
Teacher: dear guys, we have come to the final stage of the lesson: we got to know you, what the science of history studies, learned historical sciences, got acquainted with N.M. Karamzin, worked with historical texts and now it's time to answer the question: why do we we study history. Please, your versions.
The versions presented by the students: to know the past, not to make mistakes in the future, to be worthy citizens of their country.
The teacher sums up the results and opens his answer options on the blackboard:
Knowledge
Respect for the past
Education of descendants
Learn from history lessons
Be worthy citizens of your country
Get a certificate of education
Teacher: guys, and I would like to finish our lesson with a message from the guys of last year's graduates. Stylistics and spelling are preserved.
To our teacher Elena Nikolaevna. Why is history needed? History is needed in order to know the past, to find out what Russia was like, who ruled it and when, how it developed. Why do we study history? History shows the unity of the peoples of our Fatherland with the peoples of other countries of the world. And first of all, with our closest neighbors, the peoples of Europe and Asia. Getting acquainted with history in general and with the history of the Fatherland in particular, we very quickly discover that much of what we see and hear, read today has already happened more than once in our past life. Past generations invisibly stretch out their hands to us. They pass on to us not only their labor skills, their acquisitions, but also their mistakes, miscalculations and sorrows. To know the past means in many ways to understand the present and to foresee the future. Truly, as the ancient Romans said, "history is the teacher of life."
Sincerely your students.
In conclusion, the children evaluate their work in the lesson, choose the most active participants and, together with the teacher, give marks for the work in the lesson. Grades are given for work with a task card.
Criteria for evaluating oral answers in the lesson:
Correctness of the answer
Completeness of the answer
Independent judgments, conclusions
Appendix.
1. illustrations for the lesson
2. task card
3. historical sciences
4. Variants of answers to the question: why do we study history.
NIKOLAY MIKHAILOVICH KARAMZIN (1766-1826)
"HISTORY OF RUSSIAN GOVERMENT"
(EXTRACTS FROM THE PREFACE)
“History is, in a certain sense, the sacred book of peoples: the main, necessary; a mirror of their being and activity, a tablet of revelations and rules; the covenant of ancestors to posterity; addition, explanation of the present and an example of the future.
Rulers, legislators, look at her sheets, like navigators look at the blueprints of the seas. Human wisdom needs experiments, but life is short-lived. One must know how formerly rebellious passions agitated civil society and in what ways the beneficent power of the mind curbed their violent desire to establish order. But even a simple citizen should read history. She reconciles him with the imperfection of the visible order of things, as with a common occurrence in all ages: she consoles him in state disasters, testifying that there have been similar ones before, there have been even more terrible ones, and the state has not collapsed; it nourishes the moral sense and disposes the soul to justice by righteous judgment, which affirms our good and harmony.
Nestor, a monk of the Kievopechersky monastery, nicknamed the father Russian history, lived in the 11th century, gifted with a curious mind, listened with attention to oral traditions of antiquity, folk historical tales, saw monuments, graves of princes; talked with nobles, elders of Kiev, travelers, residents of other regions of Russia; read Byzantine chronicles, church notes and became the first chronicler of our fatherland.
We love one, we desire one; we love the fatherland, we wish it prosperity even more than glory; we wish that the solid foundation of our greatness never change, but the rules of wise autocracy (power) and holy faith strengthen the union of parts more and more: let Russia bloom, ... at least for a long, long time, if there is nothing immortal on earth except the soul human!"
TASK 1. What definition did Karamzin give history?
TASK 2. Why, according to Karamzin, should an ordinary citizen read history?
TASK 3. Who, according to Karamzin, is considered the father of Russian history?
TASK 4. What sources did Nestor use to create his story?
TASK 5. What does Karamzin want for his Fatherland?
Most of us treat history rather coolly, meaning by this subject only boring interweaving of dates. A lot of schoolchildren suffering from textbooks would like to know why we study history and whether there is something even more boring and uninteresting in the world.
Since the exclusion of history from school curriculum hardly planned, let's try to figure out whether it is realistic to change your attitude to stories about the past and whether the story can become exciting, intriguing and vivid?
History of the country: to think about the global
Of course, the thoughts and feelings of each person mainly revolve around their own person - most of the time we are busy solving our problems, our joys and sorrows. However, no one can deny that any of us lives in a state - a huge association of individuals that makes up a whole country. Try to imagine that our country is essentially the same person, an integral part of the world community, and there are also problems within it, it achieves victories, and sometimes suffers defeats. A country can also be hurt, sometimes it suffers from external aggression, it is able to find friends and partners for itself.
Now imagine if you could live and strive for the best, remembering nothing about your past, forgetting your parents, childhood, leaving your memories, victories and achievements like unnecessary garbage? Similarly, a country is not able to exist and achieve success without its history, consisting of a million fragments, situations and facts.
Why history is needed: past experience and its application
You have probably heard the expression: "History develops in a spiral." But have you ever wondered what it means? Let's try to figure out why humanity needs history and memory of the past.
All the events that happened to countries, states and people inhabiting them, once already happened in the past. The spiral development of history is called because events that happened a long time ago happen again, but take on new features, taking into account the new time. The saved memory of the past allows you to predict the approach of an event, avoid past mistakes, draw the right conclusions and prevent trouble.
Considering the past experience, humanity really develops "in a spiral" - upwards, for the better. If there were no history, there would be no development, and mistakes could be made again and again: wars, disagreements, the death of millions of people.
Remember how problems between states were solved in the distant past? Of course, with the help of wars. However, the past centuries have been able to teach people new ways to resolve conflicts: diplomacy has appeared, countries are trying to negotiate with each other and find compromises - solutions to problems that suit both sides of the dispute. Such skills were acquired by humanity at a huge and terrible price, and it is completely unacceptable to forget about past mistakes.
Your Family History: Our Past and Future
Thinking about the whole country, let's think about one family - your relatives, loved ones and close people. You have probably noticed with what respect and interest your parents, grandparents talk about their ancestors. You may not really want to hear these stories, but think about it: someday someone will tell the same about you. Your relatives, who make up a family, large or small, are parts of a family history that is shaping up like a puzzle into one big picture. And it depends on you whether the annals of the clan will be preserved, whether information about its representatives will be stored, whether this information will be transmitted further and further. Perhaps it is still worth listening to and remembering grandmother's stories - many years later you will begin to remember them with special warmth.
To fall in love with history and become interested in it, you can try to ask your loved ones what happened in your family during significant historical events: did your ancestors fight, how they lived after the war, what they dreamed about, what they aspired to, what they feared. Thus, impersonal historical dates will come to life and become really interesting: just imagine how your great-grandmother felt when she saw off her son or daughter to the front of the Great Patriotic War.
So why do we study history? Because it is the human memory that has become the foundation of our experience, and the memory of the country, which is the basis of its historical path, the basis for the present and future. Those who can think about it will look at the lists of dates and events in a completely different way, seeing the living past behind the facts and figures.
Why do we study history? The people around us are all different in nationality, language, age, character, habits, inclinations, and at the same time they are all the same in many ways. So the peoples are all different: each of them has its own life path from ancient times to the present day, each has its own level of development, each has its own character, its own customs, and yet all peoples are a single human family and they are characterized by many common features especially if they live on the same continents. One family Chuprov L.A. MOU secondary school 3 s. Stone-Fisher of the Khanka district of Primorsky Krai.
The history of the Fatherland shows the place and role of its peoples in world development. What the people of Russia gave to the world and what they received from it. It gives an answer to the question: who are we, where are our historical roots. What place does our people occupy in the history of Europe and Asia, what are their relations with other countries and peoples. Helps us to comprehend our special place in a long line of human generations.
The history of the Fatherland should Give us precise guidelines regarding our own people. Give a calm and honest answer to the question of what constitutes pride and glory in the life path of peoples, and what is dishonor and disgrace. Cause our respect and admiration for his worthy deeds and feelings of regret and condemnation of his bad and shameful deeds
The history of the Fatherland makes it possible to understand that much of what we see and hear, read today, what we think about, has already happened more than once in our past history. their mistakes, miscalculations, failures, misfortunes and sorrows and save us from repeating them .. That our ancestors pass on to us their labor skills, experience, achievements, their acquisitions, material and spiritual successes, cultural,
The history of the Fatherland makes it possible to learn the process of creating human society on the territory of our Fatherland, to compare this development with the entire course of the movement of mankind, to identify the stages of development of this process over the centuries. Enrich your memory, your mind with knowledge of the laws of this development.
Influence geographical location Boundless open spaces, the plain and ruined Russia, made it an easy prey for conquerors from both the East and the West. A feature of Russia's geographical position was its remoteness from the world's sea and ocean routes. It was difficult for the peoples who lived on this plain to isolate themselves. It seemed to bring them together and mix them up, helping them to exchange production experience, cultural achievements, customs and traditions. Huge spaces made it possible to retreat into the interior of the territory, escape from invasions, they also created difficulties for the conquerors, who faced long transitions through inaccessible places. This remoteness of the Russian lands from profitable sea routes, on the one hand, explains the slowness of Russia's development, and on the other hand, gives us an understanding of Russia's constant desire to get out of this "closed state", to break through to the world centers of civilization, to master profitable trade routes.
The geographical position of the country constant danger Russian borders both from the east and from the west, the need to win back access to the seas led to the fact that Russian society became traditionally militarized, that is, imbued with military (defensive and offensive) moods. The army, military service, military exploits in Russia were constantly in the foreground.
Influence of the geographical location The space of Russia also influenced the system of government. The most convenient thing here would be a strong centralized authority. Asia had a strong influence on the development of the country. From here, samples of centralized despotic control were sometimes taken. Russia was both a European and an Asian power. Russia has long been connected with Europe by a language that has the same roots with the languages of other European countries, religion (Christianity), culture, constant economic ties. The peculiarities of the country's territorial location largely explained the duration of absolute royal power in Russia. Russia's constant stay between West and East, constant confrontation in its historical experience, the culture of Western and oriental influences, the desire to determine their own, original place in world civilization has left a noticeable mark in Russian society.
“O light bright and red-decorated Russian land! You amaze with many beauties: you amaze with many lakes, locally revered rivers and springs, steep mountains, high hills, frequent oak forests, marvelous fields, various animals, countless birds ... ”Ancient author of the 13th century.
The East European Plain, on the expanses of which the history of our Fatherland unfolded, was distinguished by its monotony. It was possible to drive hundreds of kilometers and see the same landscape: a calm, majestic and even surface of the earth, covered with a dense mixed forest. Sometimes hills, ridges, ravines appeared, and even where cheerful meadows covered with dense grass stretched for tens of kilometers, the indispensable edge of the forest still turned blue on the horizon. Nature and its influence on the fate of the country.
But this majesty and stingy charm were fraught with great difficulties for the people who settled here. They more acutely felt not only the beauty of their native land, but also its severity, unkindness. They lived in conditions of albeit warm but short summers, long and cold winters, and late springs with frequent returns of cold weather. Even in the southern parts of the country, snow lies for three months, which almost no country knows Western Europe. Arctic winds, not meeting resistance in the form of high mountain ranges, blow through the country from time to time, reaching its southernmost parts. In the north, the breath of the Arctic Ocean is felt especially strongly. Continental winds blow from the east across the entire plain, burning, cold in winter and sultry, bringing drought in summer. Nature and its influence on the fate of the country.
For many centuries, half of the territory of Russia was occupied by forests, both taiga and mixed forests. There were terrible forest thickets, and destructive forest swamps, and cheerful groves and oak forests warmed by the sun. The forest protected from enemies, gave food, provided building material, it warmed, dressed, and shod. From here came logs for the construction of houses, a torch for lighting huts, a bast for making bast shoes. Hunting, picking berries, mushrooms provided man with food. Nature and its influence on the fate of the country.
From time immemorial, Russia, thanks to the forest, has been a country of wood, unlike the countries of Western Europe, where both rural settlements and cities were built of stone. Stone buildings stood for centuries, regularly serving man. Russia often and easily burned, quickly and quickly rebuilt. It took a lot of people to do it. Only Moscow burned out many times almost to the ground and was recreated again in all its glory, while London and Paris kept many of their buildings intact from the time of the 11th-12th centuries. Nature and its influence on the fate of the country.
The presence of a large number of rivers, their branching, slow and flat flow essentially made Russia a country of convenient waterways, turned rivers into a constant companion of human life. People settled on their high banks, moved along the water surface in boats and rafts, the rivers were fed with fish, and their slow majestic floods left behind water meadows convenient for cattle breeding. Along the Dnieper, Western Dvina, Desna, in the interfluve of the Oka and Volga, the first Russian principalities were created. Nature and its influence on the fate of the country.
Nature, of course, dictated its own laws. So, in the south, in the region of the Middle Dnieper, on the black earth lands, arable farming was developed earlier and more strongly, in the forest regions of the Volga and Oka, where the Vladimir-Suzdal principality and Moscow State Since ancient times, forestry and fishing have developed. Nature and its influence on the fate of the country.
All this largely determined the appearance and psychology of the people. On the monotonous flat expanses, in the gloomy forests, a stubborn, unbending, stern and at the same time trusting character was forged. outdoor nature, her miserly joys. People were formed here who worked quickly during the short summer and then were forced to “rest” during the long, cruel winters. Is it not from here that the inhabitants of the East European Plain are characterized by work in impulses, lack of craving for systematic, uniform work. Nature and its influence on the fate of the country.
This land did not know national isolation and arrogance and was open to all nations and peoples in all parts of the world. This was one of the reasons why all the states that arose here from ancient times were multinational from the very beginning. Nature and its influence on the fate of the country.
Once, while studying in the senior class of the school, I witnessed an interesting scene in the lesson. That day, the history teacher asked the class the question, “Why do we study history?” In general, he was from that breed of teachers who like to puzzle their own students with seemingly simple questions. Now it seems absurd, but then we, five minutes away from graduates, already possessing a very extensive knowledge base, trained to express our thoughts succinctly enough, did not manage to formulate a clear answer why we study history. Indeed, why? We are studying foreign languages, since this is an additional bonus to our qualifications in future work, we study mathematics and physics because of their applied nature for any engineering, why do we study history? No, on an intuitive level, we all understood that the memory of national and world history is necessary, but the formulation of the answer to the question of why we should study history specifically remained vague and uncertain.
Who controls the past...
Later, I personally built a fairly logical and correct explanation for myself, but it was too lengthy and clumsy, until a couple of years later I read the well-known dystopia of the Englishman George Orwell "1984", which painted a picture of the totalitarian future of the planet. 
A brilliant phrase was formulated there: “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past. An extremely capacious and at the same time illuminating explanation of why we study history. After all, our entire civilization, from its global features to the smallest details, is the sum of all historical development and the direct result of recent and very distant events.
And you don't even have to go back in time to change history. It is enough today to present your distorted version to negligent descendants, and the face of society will inevitably change. It is enough to retouch the crimes of the past century, and present the greatest criminals in the bright colors of benefactors. And now new moods are literally changing society before our eyes. What was shameful yesterday is becoming a matter of pride today. He who yesterday was blamed, today rules the world. It doesn't matter how things actually happened. 
In fact, any historical research is inevitably doomed to impose modern judgments, motivations and moral norms on the deeds of the past, and it is impossible by definition to restore the truth in the absolute. What matters is how a distant event is presented to us today. Although it can no longer change the past, it may well change the present. That is why historical memory is so important in the politics of any social force. That is why politicians fight each other for their vision of history, since victory in 1939, 1917, 1709 gives them victory not yesterday, but today. And today gives power over the world. And for those who have managed to find the answer to the question of why we study history, and have learned the lessons of the past, it is often easier to understand the intricacies of today.
Source: fb.ruActual
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous
Many of us have no idea what happened in the past and how it might affect our present and future. History is not just a school subject. This is our pride, our shame and our secret. We cannot erase the history of past generations, but we can learn many valuable lessons from history. That's why it's so important to start studying history.
1. Know the past.
Few people care what people have done in the past. You shouldn't dwell on the past, but isn't it interesting to know what happened a thousand years ago? Isn't it interesting to know the life history of your ancestor? History plays an important role in our life. Helps us to avoid the most dangerous mistakes that people made many years ago.
2. Admit mistakes.
Recent events can teach us many valuable lessons. When we recognize our own, we can avoid them or fight them. We can avoid conflicts, wars, the Holocaust, Holodomor, and many other terrible events that happened in the past. We cannot change the present and the future without knowing the past.
3. Understand past generations.
Mine once said, “If your great-grandmother was alive, she would have laughed at our ways of life.” I was interested in learning more facts about past generations and understanding why they had different priorities in life and what goals they had.
4. Understand modern society.
There is a thin line between past and present. What happened many years ago can affect what is happening today. Learn about the events that helped shape the lives of your ancestors, as well as yours. own life. This will help you understand modern society it is better.
5. It's incredibly interesting.
Have you ever wanted to know more about women from history, ancient buildings or famous battles? The history is incredibly interesting. Pick an aspect of the story that completely intrigues you and pick up as many history books as you can read. This may become your new hobby. History is not boring when you love what you read.
6. Understand how life has changed over the years.
Do you know about the events that led to the first and second world wars? We know about these wars, but we hardly know the reasons. Life is changeable, but the only thing that can help us understand those changes is history. Events happen at an ever-increasing pace. Studying history is an easy way to be in tune with the present.
7. Know the most prominent people.
Kings, queens, sailors, rulers, scientists, artists and many other outstanding people have done a lot for us. Yes, some of them did terrible, disgusting and terrible things, like the death penalty, but in general we have a lot of things thanks to them. Remembering their names is one of the best ways to be grateful for what they have done.
8. Find inspiration.
Finally, history is a fantastic source of inspiration. History can inspire you to create an event that will change your future. family life or your society. She may also inspire you to become the best person and find your true calling in life. History has helped many people discover their talents and develop new skills. Who knows, maybe he can help you too.
History is very important to us. I didn't like history at school. For me was one of the worst items. Now that I understand how important history is to us, I take the time to read history books. After all, one day we will all be someone else's story, so let's not forget the past and create a happy future.
