The article is based on the results of historical and sociological research in the archives of the Pushkin House. In 1918, the famous historian and sociologist Nikolai Kareev wrote an obituary in verse, wishing to pay tribute to his colleagues and trying to convey not even a word to society at large, but a cry - a cry of protest against the brutal murder of Andrei Shingarev and Fedor Kokoshkin. But the Russian Revolution of 1917, which served as the Rubicon between two eras, led to censorship. “The monthly journal of literature, science and public life” in which N. I. Kareev wanted to publish his obituary in poetry was closed. It was an obituary not only to A. I. Kokoshkin and F. F. Shingarev, but also an obituary of an entire historical era.The article shows that historical sociology as a whole and specific historical and sociological studies require a balanced approach to sources, both traditional and historiographic. At the same time, the sociological method that allows to verify various information and th