The image of Winston Churchill in Russian historiography

Aim. To analyze the problem of revealing the image of Winston Churchill in the works of Russian historians.

Methodology. The questions devoted to the scientific analysis of the domestic historians’ views on the assessment of the role in history and personality image of the British Prime Minister are considered, a comparative characteristic of W. Churchill with other great personalities of that time, Stalin and Roosevelt, is given. Additionally, researchers’ viewpoints on the attitude of W. Churchill to communism, the USSR and intervention during the Russian Civil War are studied. The methodological basis of the study was the use of comparative-historical and historical-typological methods.

Results. Most of the works about W. Churchill, which were reviewed in the study, revealed differences in interpretations, a variety of views of domestic authors on the assessment of a political personality. The conclusions they have drawn are somewhat debatable, but present an opportunity to objectively study the image of W. Churchill in the perception of the modern historical community. Not only objective but also subjective factors that influenced his image in the domestic historiography are analyzed. The article notes that in recent years there have been positive assessments of Russian historians on the character and image of W. Churchill in the world history.

Research implications. The present work can be used by researchers to get a better understanding of W. Churchill’s image and his role in world and Russian history. The materials of the article can be used to prepare lectures, study guides and textbooks on the general history of the 20th century and the history of international relations.

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