In 1957 the Russian historian Édourd Burdzhalov was dismissed as deputy editor of the journal after he published an article about the Bolshevik's confusion following the February Revolution in 1917. At that time, it was one of just three journals available to Soviet historians, the others being "Istoricheskie Zapiski", which specialised in medieval and modern Russian history, and "Vestnik drevnei istorii" which dealt with ancient history.