The author defi nes the infl uence historiographical constructions Pokrovsky on the formation of the Soviet monokontseptsii countrys history, convincingly demonstrates the interdependence of the contents of school history on the political situation in the state and ideological government. Reveals the meaning of the fi rst Soviet textbook Russian history in the most concise essay as a historiographical source - books, in eff ect having the status of the only offi cial history textbook in 20-ies. XX century. Study of Russian history in the most concise essay and its ratings in the Soviet and post-Soviet historiography suggests that attitudes towards the textbook Pokrovsky is a litmus test historiographical change the situation in the country. The analysis allowed the author of the textbook for the fi rst time to rebut the very strong tradition of historical scholarship consider Pokrovsky as a destroyer of pre-revolutionary academic science as a nihilist in relation to its heritage. The author argues that long-standing criticism of Pokrovsky and his theory of merchant capital led eventually to an underestimation of domestic historians of the role of trade, the merchant class in the process of modernizing the economy of the Russian state.