Abstract: the article considers the research activities and interests of Vladimir Mikhailovich Khvostov, which were quite diverse. Having analyzed numerous historiographic and archival sources, as well as the available literature on the subject of master’s research, it will be rational to single out three areas of the scientist’s scientific interests – these are questions of the history of diplomacy and international relations; problems of general and domestic history (mainly the events of world wars); as well as the tasks of pedagogical science as a whole (including historical education). In any of the three research topics presented, V.M. Khvostov was able to adequately prove himself as a teacher, historian and organizer of science. In the field of world history V.M. Khvostov worked primarily on the history of international relations of modern and recent times. Back in the 1930s, he published a number of articles on the history of international relations in the Middle East at the end of the 19th century, based on archival materials. Later he studied the history of German foreign policy. The result was the work “Foreign Policy of the German Empire in the Last Years of the Chancellor of Bismarck,” which in 1938 was defended for the degree of Doctor of Historical Sciences.
Vladimir Mikhailovich Khvostov investigated the relationship between the leading world powers, military clashes, and diplomatic history. Nevertheless, the creative contribution of this scientist has not been the subject of special consideration yet.
Keywords: history, historiography, foreign policy, history of diplomacy, international relations, general history, domestic history