ON THE PERIODIZATION OF THE HISTORY OF SLAVONIC PHILOLOGY (THE YEARS OF “THE IRON CURTAIN” – THE GOLDEN HALF-CENTURY OF SLAVONIC STUDIES WORLDWIDE)

Abstract

This article focuses on the issue of the periodization of the history of Slavonic philology as it reviews a variety of viewpoints concerning the problem in hand. It goes back to the so-called “pre-history” of Slavonic studies (the end of the 18th century), it then dwells on its “classical stage” (from the mid-19thcentury till the end of WWI) to reach the period between the two world wars. Eventually, the author draws the reader’s attention to, and analyses closely, above all else, the achievements of Slavonic studies during the years of “the Iron Curtain”, defining those as “the golden half-century” of Slavonic studies worldwide.