Semenov V.K. (Moscow). The Image of Charon in the Ancient Literary Tradition 

VASILY KIRILLOVICH SEMENOV

Assistant

Department of Humanitarian Disciplines

AESC MSU

121357, Russian Federation, Moscow, Kremenchugskaya st., 11

e-mail: semenovvk@my.msu.ru.

Abstract. This research is devoted to the study of the image of Charon in ancient literature. The article employs a comprehensive approach, examining the figure in ancient mythology through the lens of numerous authors from the sixth century BCE to the sixth century CE. The article’s primary focus is on the formation of Charon’s image, his environment, and his functionality. The scientific novelty of the article lies in its status as the first study in the Russian historiography devoted specifically to this topic in its entirety. It also adds details to the familiar image that were previously unknown to a wide range of readers due to the extensive use of sources. The article makes a preliminary conclusion about the presence of duality in the figure of Charon, as well as the generalised image of Charon in the ancient tradition as a whole. Furthermore, the study enables the conclusion to be drawn that the boatman is not a complete figure in all authors, instead dissolving into other images, primarily as a metonymy of death. Additionally, an author may possess multiple images concurrently.

Keywords: Charon, Greek mythology, ancient literature, Acheron, Styx.

Zlobina M.I. (Moscow). Prospects for the Emancipation of the Colonies in the Estimates of the Spanish Administrators of the late XVII – first half of the XVIII Century 

MARIANNA IGOREVNA ZLOBINA

Postgraduate student of the Department

of Modern and Contemporary History

of the Faculty of History

Lomonosov Moscow State University.

119234, Russian Federation, Moscow, Lomonosovsky Prospekt, 27, building 4,

e-mail: mariannaz01@mail.ru

Abstract. In modern historiography, there is an opinion that the Spanish possessions in the New World had de facto autonomy even before independence in 1826, although they were legally dependent on Spain. By the middle of the 18th century, the topic of its American colonies, namely the preservation of the Indies and the degree of control of the metropolis over them, came to the fore in the political circles of the monarchy. This was caused by the foreign policy situation – the Anglo-Spanish colonial confrontation in the first half of the 18th century, which began after Great Britain received the “right of haciento” in 1713 (that is, privileges to import slaves to the Western Indies), which violated the Spanish monopoly in trade with the New World, and the subsequent war “because of Jenkins’ ear” 1739–1748 years. To analyze the internal situation and state of the Indies by the 50s of the XVIII century, some of the most voluminous treatises of the XVII and XVIII centuries on the colonies created by Gabriel Fernandez de Villalobos (1642–1702) and Jorge Juan (1713–1773) together with Antonio de Ulloa (1716–1795) will be used. They describe all spheres of life The Indies, problems in the colonial administration of the metropolis and the possibility of Spain losing its American lands is emphasized. By comparing these two sources, written by unbiased eyewitnesses, it is possible to determine the weak degree of control of the monarchy over the organization of the system of social relations, economy, defense, finance and administration at the local colonial level. The material of the treatises allows us to conclude that, although the Indies were part of Spain, in fact, by the middle of the XVIII century they were actually self-governing, which called into question the stability of the colonial empire. This mainly concerned the organization of the local administrative apparatus, since in the absence of proper supervision from the metropolis, its members acted solely for personal purposes, forming their own special way of life.

Keywords: The Spanish Colonial Empire, the West Indies, the Anglo-Spanish War of 1739-1748, Gabriel Fernandez de Villalobos, Jorge Juan, Antonio de Ulloa, the colonial system of government, colonial trade, internal independence of the American colonies

Vartanyan E.G. (Krasnodar). The Bulgarian People in the Struggle for Unification after the Berlin Congress and Independence (1878–1908) 

EGNARA GAIKOVNA VARTANYAN

professor, doctor of historical sciences, professor of the Kuban State University.

350040, Krasnodar, st. Stavropolskaya, 149. Kuban State University.

е-mail: vartaneg@yandex.ru

Аbstract. The article is devoted to the struggle of the Bulgarian people for unification after the decisions of the Berlin Congress on the division of the country and the desire for complete independence of the country. The center of the liberation movement was Eastern Rumelia, where in 1884-1885 the unification movement acquired great scope. On September 6, 1885, Eastern Rumelia united into the Principality of Bulgaria. However, the population of Macedonia and Odrin Thrace was left at the mercy of the Sublime Porte, subjected to oppression, violence, and robbery. In the newly created territories, the Bulgarian population did not receive the status of a national minority, therefore, after the Berlin Congress, the Bulgarian people sought to overcome various restrictions on their independence. The Bulgarians of Macedonia continued the liberation struggle. The culmination of this struggle was the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising of 1903, which ended in defeat. On September 22, 1908, the independence of Bulgaria as part of the Principality and Eastern Rumelia was solemnly proclaimed in Veliko Tarnovo. The author comes to the conclusion that three forces supported the liberation aspirations of the Bulgarian people: the Bulgarian state, the Exarchate Church and the Internal Macedonian-Odrene Revolutionary Organization (IMRO). Each of them acted by its own methods, but all had a common goal – the liberation of the Bulgarian people and the independence of Bulgaria. The article is based on the methodological principles of historicism and objectivity, as well as on a combination of historical-systemic, historical-typological, historical-genetic methods.

Кeywords: Bulgaria, unification, Principality, Eastern Rumelia, Macedonia, Berlin Congress, reforms, independence

Sorozhkina Yu.O. (Moscow). The Main Aspects of Modernization in the Balkans on the Example of Serbia: Historiography of the Issue 

YULIYA OLEGOVNA SOROZHKINA

Applicant for a degree Candidate of Historical Sciences

Lomonosov Moscow State University

119192, Lomonosovsky Prospect, 27/4, Moscow, Russian Federation

e-mail: yulyasorozhkina@gmail.com

Abstract. Slavic historians have been studying the Balkan region, analyzing the political, socio-economic, and cultural development of its countries. However, it is only recently that modernization processes in the Balkan states as a whole, and in Serbia in particular, have come into focus. The transformation of Serbian society is particularly linked to Serbia’s independence gained as a result of the 1878 Berlin Congress. Researchers have studied modernization both in the general context and by focusing on its narrower aspects.

Pre-revolutionary historians primarily emphasized political and socio-economic developments in 19th-century Serbia, while Soviet historiography analyzed the peculiarities of the transition to capitalist relations. Contemporary scholars seek to answer more complex questions, exploring the reasons behind certain decisions of the Serbian authorities and the logic behind the formation of modernization vectors.

Yugoslav and Serbian historians examined urban culture and private life in Serbia to determine how deeply the transformation affected traditional society. Russian historians compared the political development of Serbia to European models in order to assess the degree of Europeanization of Serbian society. The historiography also addresses the important issue of the relationship between Europeanization and modernization, and whether Serbia truly underwent modernization without modernity.

Russian historians have made a significant contribution to understanding the modernization processes in the Balkans and in Serbia. For example, the collection „Man in the Balkans” brings together the works of Slavic scholars and represents an attempt to study modernization from various perspectives, drawing on data from related humanities disciplines.

This article aims to trace the main stages of the study of Serbia’s modernization and the transformation of Serbian society in the 19th century.

Keywords: Serbia, political processes, modernization, Belgrade, historiography

Rakhmatulina E.Yu. (Ust-Kamenogorsk, Republic of Kazakhstan). The Main Actors in the Modernization of the Art Industry of the Kazakh ASSR/SSR in the 1930s 

EVGENIYA YURIEVNA RAKHMATULINA

Candidate of Historical Sciences, MSOE «East Kazakhstan Regional Architectural, Ethnographic and Natural Landscape Museum-Reserve», Deputy Director,

Republic of Kazakhstan, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Beibitshilik, 29, 8 7232–269099,

e-mail: vkoemz@mail.ru

Abstract. The article analyzes the composition, resource potential and actor activity of the main participants in the process of modernization of the art industry of the Kazakh ASSR/SSR in the 1930s. Various groups of sources were used, including the office materials of the Russian State Archive of Culture and Art (RGALI), which are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The methodological basis of the study was the theory of modernization and the institutional approach. The studied materials indicate that the problems of fine art, which remained unresolved in the ethnoregion by the beginning of the revolutions of 1917, were updated and radically worked out by the Bolsheviks, taking into account the existing specifics already in the course of cultural construction in the 1930s. The process of formation of the art industry was accompanied by a high degree of involvement of party, as well as central and regional authorities in the project. The vector of modernization was aimed at the formation of new institutional ties in the field of art and the integration of the artistic community of the republic into the all-Union socio-cultural space. The role of the Union of Artists of the Kazakh SSR is shown separately; despite the organizational and administrative crisis of 1937–1938, it acted as one of the important actors in the modernization of the art industry.

Keywords: Kazakh SSR, modernization, cultural construction, fine arts, art gallery, Republican Union of Artists, Kazhudozhnik cooperative

Kolesnikov A.A., Batchaev T.A. (St. Petersburg). The North Caucasian Diaspora of Turkey: Some Historical Aspects and Current State 

ALEXANDER ANTONOVICH KOLESNIKOV

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Full Professor,

Department of International Humanitarian Relation

Director of the Center for Eurasian Studies

St. Petersburg State University

1/3 Smolny Street, Saint Petersburg, 191060

Е-mail: akol2017@mail.ru

TIMUR ABREKOVICH BATCHAEV

St. Petersburg State University

1/3 Smolny Street, Saint Petersburg, 191060

Е-mail: alan199@inbox.ru

Abstract. The article is devoted to the historical aspects of the formation and development of the North Caucasian Diaspora in Turkey. The factual materials demonstrate the assimilation processes in the diaspora. The research traces the specifics of the role of immigrants from the North Caucasus in the political and cultural life of the country. There are some attempts noted how the representatives of the diaspora are used by nationalist forces for political purposes. The positive aspects in the modern activities of various diaspora public organizations aimed at developing international relations and studying the history, ethnography and folklore of the peoples of the North Caucasus are highlighted. The authors emphasize the importance of further research of such a historical phenomenon as the foreign North Caucasian diaspora.

Keywords: Turkey, North Caucasus, World War II, KAFFED, North Caucasian Diaspora, Ottoman Empire

Kuzenkova M.V., Polyakova N.V. (St. Petersburg). Quiet Militarization: The Transformation of the Japan Self-Defense Forces’ Status in the 21st Century

MARINA VIKTOROVNA KUZENKOVA

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Social Sciences

Saint Petersburg State University of Economics

191186, St. Petersburg, Griboyedov Canal, 30/32

e-mail: marinahistory@yandex.ru

NADEZHDA VASILIEVNA POLYAKOVA

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of International Relations and Political Science

Saint Petersburg State University of Economics

191186, St. Petersburg, Griboyedov Canal, 30/32

e-mail: n.v.polyakova.engec@gmail.com

Abstract. The article analyzes the gradual process of transformation of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces from the creation of the National Police Reserve in 1952 and its transformation into the SSOI, and then its gradual strengthening since the 50s of the XX century. Special emphasis is placed on their drastic change with the onset of the 1990s. The continuation of the «quiet» militarization took place in 2001, 2006 and 2013-2016, when amendments were made to expand the possibilities of the SSOI, which changed the «anti-war constitutional spirit» of the country’s politics as a whole. The article provides an overview of the strategy of the Prime Minister S. Abe, who insisted on rethinking the Constitution and making new amendments to the Law on the SSOI, reviewed the documents he adopted in this area. To advance the process of transformation of the Japanese self-defense forces, it was necessary to consolidate «active pacifism» constitutionally, and it was this line that the government of Shinzo Abe, and then his successors, persistently pursued. In 2007, the Law on the Referendum was approved, and in 2018 it was amended. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is embarking on more active actions aimed at increasing the country’s military power. The article examines the package of documents in the field of defense approved by the government of F. Kishida on December 16, 2022, and concludes that the Japanese state is moving away from the post-war principle of self-defense and pacifism.

Keywords: Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Constitution of Japan, the law on JDF, «legislation on peace and security», «active pacifism», National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, Defense Capability Building Program, the country’s defense architecture

Petrishcheva M.V. (Orenburg). Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia in the Field of Science and Technology in 2000–2020 

MARIA VLADIMIROVNA PETRISHCHEVA

Teacher of the Department of History,

Junior Researcher of the Research Institute of History and Ethnography

Orenburg State University

460018, Orenburg Region, Orenburg, Pobedy Ave., 13

e-mail: mariyapetrischeva@bk.ru

Abstract. The article analyzes cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia in the field of high technologies. The most relevant and promising areas of cooperation are highlighted, including space, heavy industry, ecology, mining and processing of minerals. The Soviet past left behind a single base of factories and industries, parts of which are now located in two states. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, enterprises continue to operate thanks to the competent development of the legal framework and joint research. The Baikonur Cosmodrome is the basic area of mutually beneficial agreements and further development of space exploration projects. The longest land border always remains an important element in international cooperation. Thus, thanks to the Cross-Border Cooperation Forums, which have been held since 2003, it was possible to solve many problems, as well as to build new innovative projects. The period 2000–2020 showed how high-quality cooperation can be. The Academies of Sciences of both Kazakhstan and Russia, as well as various scientific and educational organizations, played a significant role in bilateral cooperation. It is valuable that both countries involved young people in this work, who shared their experience and found new ways to solve problems in the format of conferences, round tables and international clusters.

Keywords: Kazakhstan, Russia, technology, science, innovation, cross-border cooperation, collaboration

Guriev E.P. (St. Petersburg). World Military Shipbuilding in the 1920s–1930s: Battleships 

EVGENY PAVLOVICH GURIEV
PhD in historical sciences, associate professor
St. Petersburg State Universitat of Architektur and Civil Engineering
Associate professor en department of history and philosophy
Russia, St. Petersburg
190005, Saint Petersburg, 2-ja Krasnoarmejskaja str., 4.
e-mail: geier@yandex.ru

Abstract. Based on the analysis of domestic historiographic material, the author examines the process of development of military shipbuilding in the leading countries of the world, focusing on the dynamics of the improvement of battleships. Evolutionary and revolutionary processes in the development of naval affairs are compared. The leading states in the construction of battleships are named, and the reasons why they achieved outstanding success in the development of this particular segment of the navy are explained. Although the author makes a brief excursion into the events of the 17th century, the main era of development of the events studied were various years of the 20th century. The published material attempts to periodize the development of battleship construction, explains what caused the processes of acceleration or deceleration of battleship construction in certain countries. The characteristics of the most famous battleships in world history are given. The conclusion is made that the events of World War II, for a number of objective reasons, pushed battleships into the background.

Keywords: 20th century, military shipbuilding, evolution in shipbuilding, revolution in shipbuilding, battleships

Lapina I.Yu., Kargapoltsev S.Yu. (St. Petersburg). Soviet-Afghan Relations in 1919-1978: the Feudal-Communist Alliance and its Projections 

IRINA YURIEVNA LAPINA

Head of the Department of History and Philosophy of SPbGASU,

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Ingineering (SPbGASU),

190005, 2^nd Krasnoarmeyskaya stree t, 4, St. Petersburg

e-mail: clio@spbgasu.ru

SERGEY YURIEVICH KARGAPOLTSEV

Associate Professor of the Department of History and Philosophy of SPbGASU,

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Ingineering (SPbGASU),

190005, 2^nd Krasnoarmeyskaya street, 4, St. Petersburg

e-mail: clio@spbgasu.ru

Abstract. The article analyzes the circumstances of the establishment of Soviet-Afghan relations in 1919 and the main directions of their development up to the Saur (April) revolution of 1978. The facts of coordination of the actions of the USSR and the Afghan Emirate in the fight against Basmachi in the 1920s and early 1930s are presented. The features of trade, economic and cultural relations between the USSR and the Emirate of Afghanistan (since 1926 – the Kingdom of Afghanistan, since 1973 – the Republic of Afghanistan) are considered. The circumstances and nature of the Saur (April) revolution of 1978, which opened a new stage of the civil war in Afghanistan, are stated. The publication is based on an analysis of extensive Russian and foreign historiography, as well as numerous Internet resources. A special place is given to the introduction into scientific circulation of documents and information stored in the collections of leading Russian archives: the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) and the Russian State Military Archive (RGVA).

Keywords: RSFSR, USSR, Turkestan, Afghanistan, Great Britain, Basmachi, Mujahideen, People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), Saur (April) Revolution of 1978

Fogel A.S., Shestov I.S. (Samara). Magi and the Process of Transformation of the Medieval Worldview of Ancient Russia in the XI Century 

ALEXANDER SERGEEVICH FOGEL

Candidate of History,

Samara State University of Economics, Department of Philosophy and History, Associate Professor,

141 Sovetskaya Armiya str., Samara, 443090, Russian Federation

e-mail: alexandr_fogel@inbox.ru

ILYA SERGEEVICH SHESTOV

3rd year postgraduate student,

Samara State University of Economics,

Department of Philosophy and History,

141 Sovetskaya Armiya str., Samara, 443090, Russian Federation,

e-mail: ilia.shestov@gmail.com

Abstract. The article examines the problem of the existence and development of pagan priesthood in Ancient Russia, as well as their connection with the transformation of the traditional folk medieval worldview from pagan to Christian during the pre-Mongol period of Ancient Russia, primarily on the basis of chronicle material. The events of the beginning and the second half of the XI century, the so–called Magi uprisings, were of key importance for the study, as the most vivid and dramatic manifestation of this transformation – in fact, we see a phenomenon – open and often massive pagan performances taking place in a country that was baptized from fifty to almost a hundred years ago. The article examines the attitude and perception of the Magi and their activities on the part of the authorities in the person of the princes and the senior squad, and the common people both in the center (Kiev and Novgorod) and on the outskirts (Rostov Region) and identifies their typologically similar features. The author records the activity of the pagan priesthood during the speeches, its clearly expressed anticlerical position – the desire to physically destroy ordinary clergy and bishops, the utterance of prophecies and the promise of miracles. The author separately traced the reactions to the actions of the Magi on the part of the people and the authorities, as well as the “near” and “far” consequences of the uprisings. The achievements of modern Russian scientists and source scientists were used in the work.

Keywords: Ancient Russia, Magi, princes, chronicles, medieval mentality, paganism, Christianity

Astashkin R.S. (Samara). The Messages of R. Barberini about the Russian Kingdom in the Context of the Problem of the Volga-Caspian Transit 

RUSLAN SERGEEVICH ASTASHKIN

PhD in History, Volga State Transport University, associate professor of the Department of Philosophy and History of Science,

443066, Samara, Svobody st., 2 V

е-mail: biblio.min@mail.ru

Abstract. The article examines the messages of the Italian merchant Raphael Barberini about his journey to the Muscovy state in 1564. The «Report on Muscovy», first published in 1658, is used as the main source. The specified materials are analyzed in the context of the general problem of the Volga-Caspian trade transit, which constituted a specific element of the Russian-European relations in the early Modern history. The phenomenon of the conditional «Volga-Caspian transit» was based on the global trade route connecting the European territory of the Russian kingdom with the rich states of the East (primarily with the Caspian regions of the Persian Safavid Empire). The Western merchants made some practical efforts to collect information about the land and water routes which allowed to travel from «Muscovy» to Iran, India and China. Previously there have been no attempts in historiography to evaluate the corresponding aspect of R. Barberini’s literary heritage. For comparison, the selected testimonies of other Italian authors who wrote about Russia and the Volga region in the period under consideration are also provided. A hypothesis has been made that some of Barberini’s observations could have been of a certain practical interest to his compatriots who wanted to establish trade contacts with Asian countries in transit through the domain of the Russian tsars.

Keywords: history of international trade; Russia; the Muscovy kingdom; the Volga-Caspian transit; Persia; Italy

Pronchenko M.A. (Moscow). Ship Adjusted Groves and Peasant Land Use in the Middle Volga Region of the 18th Century 

MARIA ALEKSEEVNA PRONCHENKO

applicant for a scientific degree of Candidate of Historical sciences, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Faculty of History)

119991, Moscow GSP-1, Leninskie gory, 1, str. 51

e-mail: pron4enko.masha2016@yandex.ru

Abstract. In this article were considered problems of land use in Kazan Governorate in the middle of the 18th century. According to L. V. Milov a land reserve was necessary for successful work of agricultural industry. In this region such reserve was represented by forest lands. After the introduction of the ban on logging in the Volga River drainage-basin, peasants lost the opportunity cutting down the forest for new plots lawfully, this led to a deterioration in their financial situation.

Due to the land shortage, the local inhabitants were forced to break the laws prohibiting the use of territories of ship timber for arable land and hay-fields. They even invaded the borders of specially protected adjusted oak groves. The Senate expedition of A. I. Svechin revealed many secret plots in adjusted oak groves, which could occupy up to 23% of the total area.

Before General Land Survey the situation has developed, when boundaries of the domains and ownership rights were often not firmly established. It’s facilitated to the illegal use of forest territories. The Kazan Admiralty didn’t have the necessary cartographic materials and descriptions, because they were sent to the capital’s institutions. A. I. Svechin recorded the boundaries of adjusted oak groves and raised the issue of returning the state lands, which were occupied by peasants.

Keywords: ship timber, land use, Catherine II, A. I. Svechin, agrarian history, Volga region, the Kazan Admiralty.

Bogdanovich V.A. (St. Petersburg). Football in Petrograd in 1922 (on Materials of Periodicals) 

VICTOR ALEXANDROVICH BOGDANOVICH

Postgraduate Student of 1 year of the Department of Russian History

of Faculty of History and Social Sciences

Pushkin State Leningrad University

Organizer Teacher of Additional Education of SBEI School 604

Pushkinskiy Disrict of St. Petersburg

State Budgetary General education Institution

School 604

196608, Promyslenaya street., 12. St. Petersburg

e-mail: shkola604@yandex.ru

e-mail: komrad.bogdanovich16@yandex.ru,

ORCID ID: 0009-0000-8986-174

Abstract. The article affects an issue of the correlation between old and new elements in the organization and activities of football structures and teams of Petrograd in 1922. The restoration and development of classical competitions in conditions of organizational and financial instability together with the appearance of new forms of football activity in Petrograd led to the need quickly and efficiently connect these elements into a single system.

The aim of the study is to examine the main aspects of the development of football in Petrograd in 1922. The author analyzes the main positive and negative points in the work of the Petrograd football organization on the above-mentioned issue during the period under review. As the main material for research articles from the Petrograd magazine «Vsevobuch and Sport», Moscow periodical «Sports News» and the Tallinn newspaper «Red Baltic Fleet» are used. Special attention is paid to analytical materials devoted to the most important issues of football life in Petrograd in 1922 and materials of the chronicle with matches and other important events with participation of Petrograd football players and functionaries.

The author comes to the conclusion relative achievements of the Petrograd football organization in the restoration of its traditional forms of existence with general failed attempt to balance between the old and new aspects of the development of football in the city.

Keywords: football, league, army, fleet, general military training, season, Petrograd, 1922

Wang Hongyi (St. Petersburg). The Image of Emperor Alexander III in Russian Public Opinion in the Late Imperial Period: The Influence of the European Press 

WANG HONGYI

Postgraduate student, Department of Modern History of Russia, Saint Petersburg State University; 199034, Saint Petersburg, Mendeleyevskaya Liniya, 5

e-mail: wanghongyi25@126.com

Abstract. The article examines the perception of the image of Emperor Alexander III by Russian public opinion in the late imperial period before and after his death. At the end of the 19th century, against the backdrop of growing nationalist sentiments in the Russian Empire, the Russian press was extremely concerned about how European correspondents and publicists presented the image of this tsar. The author compares materials from Russian and European newspapers before and after the death of Alexander III. The article notes that it was the Western press’s ideas about Alexander III’s support of European peace and strengthening of the international status of the Russian Empire that formed the image of the “Peacemaker Tsar” in Russian newspaper, which became one of the most famous titles after the death of the emperor. Biographies of the emperor in the European press also influenced the ideas about the emperor in Russia and became part of monarchist propaganda.

Keywords: Alexander III, public opinion, nationalism, European press, Russian press, Tsar-peacemaker, international reputation of Russia

Dorohov V.Zh. (Khabarovsk). How the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs, of Soviet Russia was Created. Nuances and Peculiarities of the Transformation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs into the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs in October 1917 – June 1918 

VYACHESLAV ZH. DOROHOV

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor,

I.F. Shilov Far Eastern Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 680020, Khabarovsk Krai, Khabarovsk city, Kazarmenny per., 15

e-mail: dorohova_elen@mail.ru

Abstract. The history of the “triumphal march of Soviet power” from October 1917 to March 1918 is closely linked to the history of the formation of the apparatus of the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs, the main task at the formation stage of which was to resolve the issue of local power. This work took place against the background of an extremely difficult transformation of the Interior Ministry of the Provisional Government into the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs apparatus, due to open resistance from civil servants in general and employees of the Interior Ministry in particular. Using persuasion, extraordinary measures, including the arrest of Interior Ministry employees, and an organized evacuation of the government and the People’s Commissariat to Moscow, it was possible to form the current structure of the department only by June 1918. It is characteristic that in the process of building a new type of state, the Bolsheviks abandoned the previously expressed idea of the need to scrap the former state apparatus, in particular with regard to the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs. At the first stage of its construction, the structure and tasks turned out to be similar to the previous departments – the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Keywords: the Council of People’s Commissars, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs, The Military Revolutionary Committee, the Union of Unions, sabotage, resistance, Soviet power, Soviets, personnel issues, A.M. Nikitin, A.I. Rykov, G.I. Petrovsky, F.E. Dzerzhinsky, M.I. Latsis

Demidova E.I., Kostiaev E.V., Efimova E.A. (Saratov). The Mensheviks’ Attitude to Ukraine’s Choice Between the Bolsheviks and German Occupation in 1918 

ELENA IGOREVNA DEMIDOVA

Ph. D, Professor, Yuri Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov,

Head of the Department of «History and Philosophy»

77 Politechnicheskaya str., Saratov, Russia, 410054

e-mail: demidova-elena@yandex.ru

EDUARD VALENTINOVICH KOSTIAEV

Ph. D, associate Professor, Yuri Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov, Professor of the Department of «History and Philosophy»

77 Politechnicheskaya str., Saratov, Russia, 410054

e-mail: edikost@bk.ru

ELENA ALEKSANDROVNA EFIMOVA

Candidate of Historical Sciences, associate Professor, Yuri Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov, associate Professor of the Department of «History and Philosophy»

77 Politechnicheskaya str., Saratov, Russia, 410054

e-mail: helenn79@mail.ru

Abstract. The article provides a detailed analysis of the theoretical views and practical activities of the representatives of the Menshevik part of the domestic social democracy in Ukraine in 1918. It was at this time, after the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd in October 1917 as a result of a coup d’etat, that anti-Russian, separatist, nationalist tendencies prevailed in Ukraine. In these circumstances, when in Ukraine during the first months of 1918 there was a change of political power several times, the local Mensheviks consistently maintained their position aimed at restoring unity with Russia. Finding themselves between the serious dangers of establishing either a Bolshevik dictatorship or colonial rule by the Austro-German occupiers, the Mensheviks chose the lesser evil – an orientation toward supporting the Central Rada, which promised to convene the Ukrainian Constituent Assembly, which the local Mensheviks considered a necessary step toward the All-Russian Constituent Assembly, and, therefore, toward future reunification with Russia. The Mensheviks in every way opposed the course toward Ukrainian independence, believing that its proclamation would lead to the country falling into the economic and political bondage of German imperialism. The Mensheviks’ warnings in this regard were fully realized after Ukraine signed the Brest Peace and the subsequent occupation of the country by German and Austro-Hungarian troops.

Keywords: social democracy, Menshevism, Bolshevism, The Central Rada, Civil War, political struggle, The Brest Peace

Volobuev V.V. (Kursk). The First Professional Organization “Narpit” in Kursk: History in Names (1917-1927) 

VITALY VALERIEVICH VOLOBUEV

3rd year postgraduate student, lecturer at the Department of History and Socio-Cultural Services

Southwestern State University

305040, 50 let Oktyabrya str., 94, Kursk

e-mail: volobuev.vit98@gmail.com

Abstract. The proposed article is the first in the scientific literature study of the history of the formation of a professional catering organization “Narpit” in the city of Kursk. Analyzing the events of the revolutionary year 1917 and the following decade, the author immerses the reader in the world of social transformations that touched upon one of the most important problems of that time. The focus of the research is on the people who stood at the origins of Narpit in Kursk. Their desire to improve the difficult working conditions of cooks, waiters and other catering workers was the driving force behind the creation of this organization. The article describes in detail the first steps of the “Narpitovites”, their struggle for their rights and achievements, which made it possible to stabilize working conditions at the city’s catering enterprises. Special attention is paid to the expansion of Narpit. The author shows how, over the ten years of its existence, the organization has become a significant force capable of influencing the development of public life in Kursk. This work not only makes a significant contribution to the study of the history of trade unions in Russia, but also allows us to take a fresh look at the daily life of Soviet people in the first years after the revolution.

Keywords: national nutrition, norms, statistics, state control, survey, products, revolution

Kameneva G.N. (Stavropol). Service of Women of the South of Russia in the Soviet Cavalry Formations During the Great Patriotic War 

GALINA NIKOLAEVNA KAMENEVA

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Head of the Department of Military History and Patriotic Work of the Stavropol State Museum-Reserve.

Stavropol, 355035 Dzerzhinskiy str., 135

e-mail: kamenevagn@mail.ru

Abstract. The article deals with the formation of cavalry units in the South of Russia during the Great Patriotic War, the phenomenon of volunteerism among women in the formation of cavalry units, motivational factors of service, features of military specialization of women, dynamics of the number of personnel of cavalry formations, courage and heroism of women in combat conditions. The author comes to the conclusion that the traditions of horse breeding and Cossacks in the South of Russia, the massive development of Voroshilov cavalrymen circles, which were widespread in the pre-war and war years, contributed to the mastery of riding skills among female youth. One of the most common ways of finding women in cavalry formations was the tradition of nepotism and the massive participation of women in the creation of national militias for people of non-conscripted categories.

Keywords: women, cavalry formations, Cossacks, People’s militia, “Voroshilov cavalrymen”, horse-sanitary companies

Yahutl Yu.A., Absheev A.Yu. (Krasnodar). «Our punitive group GFP–312 took part in many other executions and tortures of Soviet patriots»: about the crimes of Nazis and traitors in the south of the USSR in 1942–1944 (based on the materials of declassified criminal cases of the archive of the Federal Security Service of Russia in the Krasnodar Territory) 

YURI ASLANBIEVICH YAHUTL

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Kuban State University, Department of Russian History 149 Stavropol Street, Krasnodar, 350040, Russia

e-mail: a075ca@eandex.ru

ALEXEY YURIEVICH ABSHEEV

postgraduate student at the Faculty of History, Sociology and International Relations of Kuban State University 350040, Russia, Krasnodar, Stavropol, 149

e-mail: Iivekrd2023@mail.ru

Abstract. The occupation regime of Nazi Germany on the territory of the USSR was distinguished by the purposeful destruction of the civilian population. The plans of the leadership of the Third Reich contained a list of specific measures to eliminate the political system and the population of the country, which largely predetermined the nature of the confrontation between nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War and after its completion, the Government of the USSR presented irrefutable facts of the monstrous atrocities of the Nazis and their accomplices in the temporarily occupied territories. The Soviet court and the international Nuremberg Trials recognized them as a crime against humanity. The authors of the article, based on declassified and published archival materials, study the criminal acts of one of the most secret punitive bodies of the Abwehr – the Secret Military Police (GFP), in which former Soviet citizens who knowingly collaborated with the enemy committed crimes against compatriots. The post–war trials of employees of GFP-312, which operated in the south of the USSR, including on the territory of Crimea, established and recorded, based on the testimony of witnesses and facts obtained by the investigative bodies of the KGB, the participation of soldiers, officers of the Wehrmacht and traitors in mass shootings of civilians and Soviet patriots.

Keywords: Germany, genocide, GFP, collaboration, occupation, traitors, execution, USSR

Kovaleva O.A. (Tyumen). Cinema, Theatre and Music in the Leisure Life of Wartime Tyumen (1941–1945) 

OLGA ALEXANDROVNA KOVALEVA

postgraduate student of Records Management and Russian History Department,

Nizhnevartovsk State University

625023, Russia, Tyumen, Odessa str., 54

e-mail: koa94-72@mail.ru

Abstract. The article is devoted to one of the aspects of everyday life of the Tyumen citizens in 1941-1945. It is the spending of free time in forms organised by cultural institutions. The focus is on organised leisure time. It is connected with visiting the theatre and cinema, which were the main city cultural institution. The activity of these institutions in wartime is analysed on the basis of the study of different types sources. The author reveals its importance in the everyday life of Tyumen residents. The conclusion of the study is that in the rear town, despite the existing difficulties, there were opportunities to organise leisure life. Cinema was the most popular form of recreation for citizens, and theatre provided an opportunity to join more complex types of art.

Keywords: war, leisure, theatre, cinema, repertoire, Tyumen

Prishchepa A.S., Kulik S.V., Kuznetsova O.N., Popov A.A. (St. Petersburg). On the History of Training Industrial Personnel after the Lifting of the Siege of Leningrad 

ALEXANDER SERGEEVICH PRISHCHEPA

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University,

195251, Politehnicheskaya street, 29, liter. B, St. Peterburg,

researcher, The Institute of History of the Defence and the Blockade of Leningrad of the State Memorial Museum of the Defense and Blockade of Leningrad,

191028, Solaynoy lane, 9, St. Peterburg,

e-mail: a.prischepa@list.ru

SERGEY VLADIMIROVICH KULIK

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University,

195251, Politehnicheskaya street, 29, liter. B, St. Peterburg,

e-mail: kulik54@mail.ru

OLGA NIKOLAEVNA KUZNETSOVA

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University,

195251, Politehnicheskaya street, 29, liter. B, St. Peterburg,

e-mail: bon-box@mail.ru

ARTEM ANATOLEVICH POPOV

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University,

195251, Politehnicheskaya street, 29, liter. B, St. Peterburg,

scientific secretary, State Memorial Museum of the Defense and Blockade of Leningrad,

191028, Solaynoy lane, 9, St. Peterburg,

e-mail: artempopovspb@mail.ru

Abstract. After the lifting of the siege of Leningrad on January 27, 1944, close attention was paid to the educational process in the USSR. The role of factory training schools and vocational schools in the structure of industrial personnel training was increasing. Demobilized from the ranks of the Red Army, the re-evacuated residents of the city on their return entered educational centers, which were often opened at factories, in order to acquire labor skills. However, even those who had an education, they raised their educational level by enrolling in a School of masters, a technical school or higher educational institutions. Being in the new realities, the Soviet citizens understood the prospects of obtaining knowledge, which will be in demand in the future. Combining the received theoretical training with work experience, with a deep knowledge of the principle of working in a labor collective, labor reserves would be able to more successfully prove themselves in the leadership of the production sites entrusted to them.

Keywords: Great Patriotic War, siege of Leningrad, education, factory training school, vocational school, working youth

Zotova A.V. (St. Petersburg). History of Financing the Restoration of Leningrad and its Suburbs at the Final Stage of the Great Patriotic War 

ANASTASIIA VALEREVNA ZOTOVA

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Faculty of International Relations,

St. Petersburg State University.

199034, St. Petersburg, Universitetskaya nab., 7-9.

e-mail: anastasiyazotova@mail.ru

Abstract. In this article, the author analyzes the historiographical trends of recent years, aimed largely at studying the role of Soviet finances in the restoration of Leningrad and its suburbs from the consequences of the enemy invasion. The identified historiographical gaps are filled with information drawn from archival funds. Data is provided on the priorities of restoration work implemented as a result of government decisions, such as “On priority measures for the restoration of the city of Pushkin”, “On priority measures for the restoration of the city of Peterhof”, “On providing the School of Architecture and Art with materials, tools and equipment”, “On additional allocation of funds for replenishing school libraries”, “On holding winter holidays and the New Year’s tree holiday in schools in Leningrad”, etc. The article focuses on the implementation of social programs to ensure the health, recreation and development of children. The main directions of restoration of Leningrad and its suburbs (Pushkin, Peterhof, Kronstadt, Kolpino and a number of other areas) are noted. The conclusion is made about the uniqueness of the situation that developed: the restoration process and its financial support were carried out even during the period of military operations.

Keywords: siege of Leningrad, economy of Leningrad, restoration of Leningrad, military budget, Leningrad City Council, Leningrad City Executive Committee

Baturin A.S. (Kemerovo). The Source Basis of the Research on the Development of Automobile Transport in Kuzbass in the mid-1930s – mid-1960s 

ALEXANDER SERGEEVICH BATURIN

lecturer at the Department of General Education Disciplines

branch of the federal state budgetary educational institution of higher education

“Central Music School – Academy of Performing Arts”

650056, Russian Federation, Kemerovo, st. Voroshilova 22b

e-mail: kemerovo@cmsmoscow.ru

Abstract. The article provides an analysis of the source base on the topic of the development of automobile transport in Kuzbass, starting from the last pre-war years and ending with the post-war decades. The author identified the groups with which he conducted the analysis and highlighted the value of the studied material for studying this topic. The following groups were identified: 1. Archival materials, which are presented both at the regional level (state archives of the Kemerovo, Novosibirsk and Tomsk regions), and at the city level (city archives of the cities of Anzhero-Sudzhensk and Kemerovo), as well as at the municipal district level (archival department of the administration of the Yurginsky municipal district). In addition, the current archive of the State Enterprise of Kuzbass “Passazhiravtotrans” was used. 2. Statistical data, which primarily include statistical collections (National Economy of the USSR, Kemerovo Order-Bearing, Kuzbass. History in Figures, Kemerovo Region in Figures. 1965-1975, Steps of the Seven-Year Plan, and West Siberian Region in New Borders in Figures. Brief Statistical Handbook). 3. Periodicals, which primarily include newspapers (Kuzbass, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Arguments and Facts, Kuznetsk Region, Moi Gorod). 4. Normative and legal framework, where decrees and orders were analyzed. 5. Reference publications, which primarily include encyclopedias (Great Soviet Encyclopedia, Siberia in Persons, Historical Encyclopedia of Siberia). 6. Oral history (interviews and questionnaires). In conclusion of the article, the author summarizes the completeness of the source basis of the research.

Keywords: Kemerovo region, source studies, automotive industry, all-Soviet, all-Siberian, regional

Lomakin A.V. (St. Petersburg). Portraits Against the Backdrop of the Era: Images of Soviet Leaders in the Space of the Festive City During the “Thaw” Period (Based on Materials from Leningrad) 

ALEXANDER VLADIMIROVICH LOMAKIN

postgraduate student of Departments of Modern History of Russia
Institute of History of St. Petersburg University;

assistant at the Department of History of Culture, State and Law
Faculty of Humanities, St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University “LETI” named after V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin)

Russia, 197022, St. Petersburg, Professor Popov Street, 5
e-mail: lloomm_98@mail.ru

Abstract. The article is devoted to the tradition of passing columns of demonstrators with portraits of Soviet leaders during mass holidays on May Day and November 7, as well as the use of portrait images in the space of the festive city during the “thaw” period (1953-1964). Based on sources of personal origin, documents and photographs from the archives of St. Petersburg (Leningrad) the symbolic features of this element are analyzed in the context of the “thaw” processes of liberalization and de-Stalinization of society, the incidents associated with it are described. If in the 1930s and 1940s the demonstration of portraits of leaders, and above all J.V. Stalin, was of a pronounced political nature, then after 1953 the ideological content of this tradition began to lose its former content, its functions became more blurred. The disappearance of portraits of Joseph Stalin at mass celebrations in Leningrad, changes in the organizational aspect of the design of squares and festive columns, the ironic perception of the population – all this indicates the transformation of the symbolic and functional content of the tradition under study. The author comes to the conclusion about the loss of the “instrumental” attitude to the demonstration of portraits, which may indicate its genuine consolidation in culture.

Keywords: “thaw”, Soviet holidays, May Day, Anniversaries of the Revolution, portraits, USSR, Leningrad

Filatov A.V. (Ulyanovsk). Cultural and Social Institutions in the Ulyanovsk Region in the 1950s: Problems and Solutions 

ARTYOM VLADIMIROVICH FILATOV

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University named after I. N. Ulyanov, Associate Professor of the Department of History, 4 Lenin Square, Ulyanovsk, 432071, Russian Federation,

e–mail: rasit56@mail.ru

Abstract. The article examines the state and development of the construction of cultural institutions in the Ulyanovsk region in the 1950s, in particular during the fifth five-year plan (1951-1955). It describes how efforts to create cultural centers, clubs, libraries and kindergartens became an important part of the policy of the Soviet Union aimed at improving the living conditions of the population and the development of public life. However, the analysis shows that the construction faced serious problems, including the lack of design documentation, exceeding estimates and delaying deadlines, as well as a lack of attention from regional and district authorities. Despite the increase in the number of cultural institutions in some areas, a significant number of collective farms remained without the necessary facilities, which underlines the need for a more focused approach in the construction and support of cultural infrastructure in rural areas. The sources were unpublished documents seized from the repositories of the State Archive of the Ulyanovsk Region (GA UO) and the State Archive of the Modern History of the Ulyanovsk Region (GANI UO), a significant part of which is being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, statistical materials and periodicals. The relevance of this topic is also due to the fact that the article provides an important historical context for understanding the development of public life in the USSR and its impact on the local population.

Keywords: cultural institutions, collective farm, house of culture, construction, public life

Mingyu Du (Beijing, China). The Controversy between Lysenko and Vavilov from Rouse’s View of Power-knowledge 

MINGYU DU

Doctoral Candidate of Department of the History of Science,

School of Humanities, Tsinghua University.

100084, Qinghuayuan, 1, Haidian District, Beijing, China.

e-mail: Maximvdu@yandex.ru

Abstract. “The Lysenko affair”, as a negative case of political power interfering with academic development in the history of science, has attracted widespread attention in the academic community. The common sense is that Lysenko took advantage of the repression of external power to achieve his own political goals in Soviet biology. J. Rouse emphasizes the concept of “knowledge is power”, which regards knowledge production through laboratory practices as the process and result of internal “micro-power”. Knowledge can also expand beyond the laboratory to have a political impact. Besides, all knowledge producers are “disciplined” by historical circumstances. The Rouse’s view of power-knowledge as a historiographical “filter” for interpreting “the Lysenko affair” reveals new findings: the controversy between T.D. Lysenko and N.I. Vavilov was the trigger and internal cause of “the Lysenko affair”; previous researches of “the Lysenko affair” have neglected to analyze the essence of the controversy and its impact on the affair; the essence of the controversy between Lysenko and Vavilov is a controversy of scientific knowledge; Vavilov, who was also “disciplined”, participated in the knowledge production of Lysenko’s “theory of vernalization”, in other word, involved in internal “micro-power” operations, and provided “fulcrums” for external political power to pry open black boxes of science; Louse’s view of power-knowledge provides a methodology for reinterpreting the historical facts of science, and its significance for the historiography of science deserves to be explored in depth and put into practice in the study of the history of science and technology.

Keywords: J. Rouse, power-knowledge conception, T.D. Lysenko, N.I. Vavilov, historiography of science

Kiba D.V. (St. Petersburg). Contribution of the Leningrad Branch of the USSR-Japan Society to the Development of Soviet-Japanese Intercultural Relations in the 1970s 

DARIA VALERIEVNA KIBA

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, tour guide of the Museum Pedagogy Department of the State Museum of Political History of Russia

197046, 2-4 Kuibysheva St., Saint Petersburg, Russia

e–mail: musdetcki@mail.ru

Abstract. The article examines the activity of the USSR-Japan Society, Leningrad unit, serving to facilitate cultural ties between the people of the USSR and Japan in the 1970s. The author identifies contributory factors and obstacles to the evolution of the cultural relations. Two chronological stages in the development of the cross-cultural contacts are defined: 1970 – 1976 and 1977 – 1980. The article describes the structure of the unit, its main areas of work. The forces of Japan ready to support cultural relations are revealed: Socialist and Communist Parties, Friendship Societies, creative and scientific intellectuals, a number of Japanese commercial organizations. The methods of work with each friendly society are explored. The author traces the development of the cooperation between Leningrad and Osaka, which resulted in signing the Cultural Agreement between the Sister – Cities in 1979. The documents of the Saint Petersburg Central Archives revealed a number of topics that were of interest to Japanese people during their visits to the USSR: social security, labor legislation, family and marriage, care for parents and children, education. Consequently, the Leningrad unit of the USSR-Japan Society was able to develop wide connections with Osaka, Hokkaido, Okinawa. As a result, Japanese people increased their understanding of the domestic, social, scientific life in the USSR.

Keywords: Leningrad branch of the USSR-Japan Society, Japan-USSR Society, Japanese-Soviet Friendship Society (JSF) and Japanese-Soviet Relations Society, sister city relations, Osaka

Laushkin A.V. (Moscow). Ceremonies of Grand Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest: calendar aspect 

Pozhigailo I.P. (Moscow). Stolypin’s Project of Local Government Reforms: Preparation and Implementation, 1906–1911 

Pokrovskaya V.A. (Moscow). The Literary Salon of the Khomyakovs in the Context of the Development of Salon Culture in the Second Quarter of the Nineteenth Century 

Klevenskaya E.S. (Moscow). P. Kh. Grabbe (1789–1875). The General under Nicholas I with a Decembrist Past 

Elizaveta Sergeevna Klevenskaya

Postgraduate Student, Department of Russian history of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Faculty of History,

Lomonosov Moscow State University

119234, Russian Federation, Moscow, Lomonosovsky Prospekt, 27, building 4

e-mail: klevenskaya.elizaveta@mail.ru

Abstract. The hero of the Napoleonic Wars, colonel P. Kh. Grabbe, after participating in the secret society of the Decembrists and being imprisoned in the fortress, managed to restore his reputation during Russian-Turkish War of 1828–1829 and became a general. Under the reign of Nicholas I, he was a major military commander and a prominent participant in the Caucasian War. Scientific biography of P. Kh. Grabbe is absent, although his surname is often found in well-known monographs in two cases — in the list of participants of the Union of Prosperity and as commander of troops on the Caucasian line and in Black Sea region. This circumstance draws special attention to the study of the life path of a former member of a secret society, who brilliantly proved himself in the Caucasian War.

Keywords: P. Kh. Grabbe, Alexander I, Nicholas I, the Napoleonic Wars, the Decembrists, the Union of Prosperity, the Caucasian War

Zaykina T.V. (Samara). A.F. Rediger – Minister of War, Doomed to Resignation (1905-1909). Historical Sketch 

TATYANA VITALIEVNA ZAYKINA

Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy PSUTI, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor

Volga Region State University of Telecommunications and Informatics,

443010, Samara, L. Tolstoy St., 23.

e-mail: priem@psuti.ru

Abstract. In the difficult period for the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century, the post of Minister of War was occupied by Infantry General Alexander Fedorovich Rediger. He was a complex military-political figure among officials in the power structures of Tsarist Russia, who got to the top of power in a somewhat unconventional way – Alexander Fedorovich became Minister of War in the government of Emperor Nicholas II, being a major military scientist, but having no experience in commanding a military district. Plus, many of his character traits clearly did not contribute to strengthening his position as Minister of War for a long time. In this article, the author made an attempt, relying on a number of sources, including archival office documents and materials, as well as the historiographic work of his predecessors, to consider in the genre of a historical sketch the main traits in the character of A.F. Rediger, which had a special influence on his resignation from his post in 1909. Naturally, the author does not claim to fully cover the problem.

Keywords: Russian Empire, Minister of War, A.F. Rediger, reforms, SGO (State Defense Council), Grand Prince Nikolai Nikolaevich (Jr.)

Habibov Sh.S. (Moscow). The Russian Military Base as a Guarantor of Tajikistan’s Security and Peace in the Region

SHERZOD SAIFULLOEVICH HABIBOV

Captain of the Armed Forces of Republic Tajikistan,

Adjunct of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces

119571, Moscow, Vernadsky Avenue, 100

e-mail: sherzod.habibov@bk.ru

Abstract. The article provides an in-depth analysis of the significance of the Russian military base stationed in Tajikistan as a crucial component of Central Asian security. It examines the strategic importance of the base’s geographic location, the legal foundations for its presence, and its various roles in maintaining regional stability. Special attention is given to combating extremism, terrorism, and drug trafficking. The cooperation between Russian and Tajik armed forces is highlighted, including joint military exercises, military personnel training, and intelligence sharing. The article emphasizes the base’s role in fulfilling Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) obligations and its contribution to collective defense. Future prospects for base modernization and deepening military collaboration are discussed to counter modern security threats effectively.

Keywords: Russian military base, Tajikistan, Central Asian security, counterterrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, CSTO, military cooperation, infrastructure modernization, joint exercises, collective defense, strategic stability, international agreements, military training, geopolitical security