The article is written to commemorate the centenary of the birth of the famous historian of
Russian philosophy and sociology Anatoly Andrianovich Galaktionov (1922–2002), whose life
activity for a long time was closely connected with St Petersburg (Leningrad) State University.
The purpose of the article is a comprehensive understanding of the role of A.A.Galaktionov
in the national historical and sociological tradition, as well as a synthesized assessment of his
work from the standpoint of the current state of the history of sociology. The historian’s work
is revealed within the biographical context and the main stages of the scientist’s life as a struggle for his research principles and beliefs. Based on the historiographical review, the sequence
of formation of A.A.Galaktionov’s key scientific ideas is thoroughly considered and the fundamental importance of methodological developments in the field of historical research of the
Russian philosophical process is shown. On basis of this approach, his fundamental contribution to the development of Russian science was first concretized. An important conclusion
is made that the main creative achievement of A.A.Galaktionov is the concretization and
systematization of the historical-materialistic understanding of social thought in Russia. The
identification of the national and cultural peculiarities of the Russian philosophical process
is indicated as an important moment of this concretization. A vivid example of this kind of
concretization was the comprehension of the historical place and significance of Slavophilism
in the history of Russian social thought. For the first time in the Russian literature, his characteristic of Russian philosophy as a philosophy of life is highlighted. At the end of the article, the relevance and value of A.A.Galaktionov’s ideas for modern research of Russian philosophical culture and sociological thought is emphasized.