Litvinov P.P. (Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic). Turkmens in the System of Russian Governance of the Nomadic Population in the Second Half of the 18th – early 20th Centuries: Analysis of Sources and Historiography

PETR PETROVICH LITVINOV
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Senior Research Fellow
Institute of Strategic Analysis and Forecast
Kyrgyz‑Russian Slavic University named after B. N. Yeltsin

724330, Kyrgyz Republic, Bishkek, Chui Avenue, 42

e-mail: petr.litvinov.46@mail.ru

Abstract. The article is devoted to the problem of state and legal regulation of relations between the tsarist government and the Turkmen. The authors note that, despite the fact that the final annexation of their historical territory to the Russian Empire took place only in the early 1880s, the Turkmens appeared in its legal space much earlier. The authors cite legislative acts confirming that the tsarist government tried to comprehensively regulate the activities of the small Turkmen population within its jurisdiction. Researchers write that tsarism viewed the historical lands of the Turkmens in the context of its plans to conquer Central Asia. In the 1839-1840s, a winter campaign was launched against the Khanate of Khiva, which proved unsuccessful. In 1873, a new offensive was launched against Khiva, as a result of which the khanate lost part of the lands, including those inhabited by Turkmens. In 1874, the Transcaspian Military Department was established and a legislative act was approved to manage it. He subordinated it to the Caucasian administration, dividing the department into bailiffs, volosts and villages, introducing administrative and police control of the population, ensuring its rights and advantages. The establishment of the department did not establish royal authority over all Turkmens, most of whom remained under the formal jurisdiction of the Khanate of Khiva.

Keywords: Russian Empire, Turkmenistan, Khiva Khanate, Transcaspian military department, Transcaspian region, “Transcaspian situation”, legal regulation

Stanulevich N.A. (St. Petersburg). Publications on Newspaper “Buryat-Mongol Pravda” as a Source about Antireligious Propaganda in USSR in the 1920s and 1930s

NADEZHDA ALEXEEVNA STANULEVICH

Candidate of Science

Saint Petersburg State University, Senior Research Fellow

Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (the Kunstkamera), Research Fellow

199034 Russia Saint-Petersburg, Universitetskaya emb. 3

e-mail: nadstanul@kunstkamera.ru

Abstract. Graphics and publications in periodicals are understudied materials on ideological work in the USSR in the 1920s and 1930s. For the history of Russian visual anthropology, anti-religious cinema and graphics provide contemporary researchers with an understanding of anti-religious propaganda in the USSR and the public’s reaction to these materials through the analysis of newspaper publications.

As part of this study, a selection of the newspaper Buryat-Mongolskaya Pravda for the period from 1926 to 1930 was examined. The use of periodicals from the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was motivated by the opportunity to assess the anti-religious policy of the union state in a region of religious diversity.

The Buryatika project database was used to study the array of newspaper issues. To study the published materials, a classic page-by-page review was conducted at the first stage of the study without the use of special programmes. Next, the functionality of the specialised content analysis programme MAXQDA 2024 was used for a specific search.

The main types of anti-religious publications are articles and notes denouncing religion, its ministers and believers, announcements of renunciation of faith or ordination, announcements of religious debates, anti-religious lectures, exhibitions and film screenings. Caricatures accompanied by anti-religious slogans were published in periodicals. In some cases, only the slogans or headlines of articles added an anti-religious tone to the published material. The publications were prompted by religious holidays of various denominations, elections to Soviets at various levels, and thematic events outside the holiday calendar, organised as part of the state’s anti-religious policy.

An appeal to the regional press with diverse confessional representation makes it possible to identify the characteristics of anti-religious propaganda in the USSR in the 1920s and 1930s, as well as to ascertain the potential of publications in regional newspapers for studying graphic works of anti-religious content, as well as anti-religious cinema, especially in the area of its promotion in the mass media.

Keywords: anthropology of religion, visualization of religions, anti-religious propaganda, anti-religious film, MAXQDA

Akkubekov R. Yu., Giniatullina L.M. (Ufa). The Heroism of the Soldiers of the 112th Bashkir Cavalry Division in the Essays of Military Journalists During the Great Patriotic War

RASHITt YU. AKKUBEKOV

Cand. Sci. (Philology), Researcher,

Institute of History, Language and Literature,

Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian

Academy of Sciences

Ufa, st. Mendeleeva, 150/5, apt. 41

e-mail: rashit.akk.02@mail.ru

GINIATULLINA LUIZA MIDAKHATOVNA

Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences

450059, Ufa, Oktyabrya Ave., 46/1, Apt. 79

e-mail: giniatullina71@bk.ru

Abstract. The article examines the first essays published in leading national newspapers about the heroism of the Bashkir cavalry of the 112th Bashkir Cavalry Division. The author claims that on July 8, 1942, in the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, 6 days after the start of the heroic hostilities of the Bashkir Cavalry Division, the first essay by the correspondent of Krasnaya Zvezda, Commissar P.A. Krainov, was published about the division’s successes in defeating German troops. On July 25, 1942, the famous writer, war correspondent K.M. Simonov and photojournalist V.A. Temin arrived at the division on behalf of the editorial board of the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda to provide detailed coverage of the exploits of Bashkir soldiers. They visited the division headquarters, the regimental positions, and talked with soldiers who had distinguished themselves in battle. Soon, K.M. Simonov’s essay “In the Bashkir Division” appeared in the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda (07/31/1942). The writer told about the history of the formation of the Bashkir Cavalry division about the bloody battles with superior enemy forces, listed the names of the fighters who performed feats. The article describes, in comparison with the award documents, the heroism of the soldiers captured in the essays by P.A. Krainov and K.M. Simonov.

Keywords: Great Patriotic War, 112th Bashkir Cavalry Division, K.M. Simonov, P.A. Krainov, essay, Bashkir horsemen

Burnasheva N.I. (Yakutsk). Basics of the Social and Economic Life of the Yakuts before the Beginning of the Yasak Regime (17th Century). On the 90th Anniversary of Professor V.N. Ivanov (1935–2021)

NATALIA IVANOVNA BURNASHEVA

Chief Researcher of Department of History, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate professor,

Institute for Humanitarian Research and North Indigenous People Problems of

Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences,

677020, st. Petrovsky, 1, Yakutsk

e-mail: n_burnasheva@mail.ru

Abstract. The article is devoted to the issue of socio-economic relations and the state of economic life of the Yakuts as a first nation at the time of Yakutia’s entry into the Moscow state in the 17th century. The article examines the point of view of the first researcher of this problem, the famous Yakut historian, scientist, professor V.N. Ivanov, which was published in a monograph in the monograph “Socio-economic relations among the Yakuts. 17th century” (Yakutsk, 1966). In his research, he relied on an analysis of reports, dispatches from service personnel, materials from the first yasak books, and the 1642 census, which for the first time in Yakut history conducted an official livestock census across the yurts of three volosts in the Yakutsk district. A study of documentary materials allowed the scholar to identify qualitative changes in the lives of the district’s population, which revealed three main characteristics. These included the emergence of occupational specialization based on horse and cattle breeding; the gradual predominance of cattle in the herd; and the increasing economic role of cattle breeding in individual Yakut farms. Based on historical sources, V.N. Ivanov determined the economic basis of Yakut social relations, on the basis of which the yasak taxation system was formed in Yakutia in the mid-17th century.

Keywords: Yakut district, history of the 17th century, socio-economic relations, Yakut economy, cattle breeding, yasak policy, tax system

Massov A.Ya. (St. Petersburg). Studying the History and Ethnology of Papua New Guinea in Russia (towards the publication of N.N. Miklouho-Maclay Jr.’s book, Life Between Two Worlds. Papuans of the Maclay Coast. Moscow: Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 2025. 360 p.)

ALEXANDER YAKOVLEVICH MASSOV

PhD, Professor, The History and Cultural Studies Department,

St Petersburg State Marine Technical University,

190121, St. Petersburg, Lotsmanskaya st., 3

e-mail: amassov@gmail.com

Abstract. Of all the Oceania’s island, the history and ethnology of Papua New Guinea (PNG) have always received particular attention in Russia. Undoubtedly, this attention is largely due to interest in the biography and works of the Great Russian explorer N.N. Miklouho-Maclay, who worked in New Guinea in the 1870s and 1880s. This publication briefly examines the main achievements of Russian researchers in the study of the history and ethnology of this country. It is noted that a new stage in scientific research in this area was the establishment in 2017 and subsequent activities of the Miklouho-Maclay Foundation for the Preservation of Ethnocultural Heritage, founded by the Russian scholar’s great-great-grandson, N.N. Miklouho-Maclay Jr. In addition to his scientific and educational activities, the Foundation’s director and a team of Oceania specialists conducted seven research expeditions to New Guinea, which resulted in a number of scientific publications and the publication of a colourful and richly illustrated book, “Life Between Two Worlds: Papuans of the Maclay Coast.” The publication praises this work as a high-quality popular science work that will help broaden readers’ horizons, foster respect for the cultures of other peoples, and preserve the memory of N.N. Miklouho-Maclay. The book will also be in demand by specialists studying the South Pacific region, and its publication will have a beneficial impact on the further development of friendly relations between the Russian Federation and Papua New Guinea.

Keywords: Papua New Guinea, Miklouho-Maclay Foundation, Russian research on Papua New Guinea

Vyborov D.Yu., Korneev V.V. (Moscow). On the Nature and Consequences of Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov’s Wounds in Russian and Foreign Historiography

DMITRY YURIEVICH VYBOROV

Ortopedic surgeon, Medical and diagnostic center «Maryino»

109269, Moscow, Novocherkassky boulevard., Building 55, Bldg. 2

e-mail: dicon@list.ru

VLADIMIR VLADIMIROVICH KORNEEV

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professo,

Russian State Social University, Associate Professor of the History Department

129226, Moscow, V. Pika St., Building 4, Bldg. 1

e-mail: vvkorni86@bk.ru

Abstract. The article examines Russian and foreign publications dedicated to Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov’s first two gunshot wounds to the head, received by the general in 1774 and 1788 during the Russo-Turkish wars. It highlights the opinions and conclusions of leading Russian historians of the pre-revolutionary, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods of historiography regarding the impact of these wounds on the general’s vision functions and physical health, and draws attention to the unique nature of the injuries received. Excerpts from historical sources are published that describe these wounds in terms of their physical nature and consequences for the life and health of the military leader. The article presents the points of view of modern medical specialists on the nature and consequences of these wounds, provides an assessment, and highlights contradictions and controversial opinions in the works of Russian researchers. Particular attention is paid to the criticism of certain foreign publications in which this topic serves as the basis for discrediting the entire military leadership of M.I. Kutuzov. It is emphasized that some historians’ works are marked by a poor understanding of human physiology, while medical specialists’ work ignores documentary sources and historical context. It is concluded that a synthesis of the knowledge of historians and medical professionals is necessary, as is a search for new sources capable of objectively assessing the nature and consequences of the famous Russian commander’s injuries.

Keywords: M. I. Kutuzov’s wounds, battle of Shuma, siege of Ochakov, documentary sources, gunshot wounds and fractures, osteomyelitis

Loginov M.D. (St. Peterburg). “You, roman, remember…”: The Celebration of the Virgil’s Bimillenary in Fascist Italy

MAKSIM DMITRIEVICH LOGINOV

postgraduate student of the Department of Universal History

Herzen State Pedagogical University

19118, Russia, St. Petersburg, 48 Moika Embankment

e-mail: makss-maksik@mail.ru

Abstract. This article examines the mechanisms of the memorial policy of Italian Fascism through the case study of the 1930 bimillenary celebration of Publius Vergilius Maro (70 BC – 19 BC). Based on the analysis of public rituals, academic works, and media materials, the conclusion is drawn that the figure of Virgil allowed the regime to appeal to various social groups, thereby providing scientific and cultural authority for its power. The significant role of the academic community is particularly highlighted in this context, as it lent an aura of scientific legitimacy to the regime’s rhetoric and directly participated in the national celebrations. The author proves that the anniversary was not a simple act of venerating the ancient heritage, but a targeted instrument for reconstructing the past to serve the political tasks of the present. Primarily, the poet’s works were reinterpreted to legitimize agrarian policy, expansionist ambitions, and the total penetration of the state into public life. A special role in this process was played by «Romanità» – a concept asserting continuity between Ancient Rome and Fascist Italy, which allowed the regime to present its policies as something new while simultaneously being deeply rooted in the past.

Keywords: Virgil’s anniversary, Fascist Italy, Romanità, commemorative practices, ancient heritage

Gunko A.A. (Saratov). On the Question of the Incorporation of Hamburg into the French Empire in 1811

ANDREY ANATOLEVICH GUNKO

Junior Researcher at the Scientific and Educational Center “Regional Historical and Cultural Heritage and Cross-cultural Relations” of the Institute of History and International Relations, Saratov State University named after N.G. Chernyshevsky,

410012, Russian Federation, Saratov, Astrakhan St., 83

e-mail: violla0217@gmail.com

Abstract. The article examines the socio-economic and political reasons for the inclusion of the free city-state of Hamburg in the Napoleonic France on 1 January 1811. In highlighting the main issues of this article, we will rely on classical methods adopted in historical science (descriptive-narrative and chronological). Having occupied Britain’s long-standing trading partner at the end of 1806, Paris had long tried to balance Hamburg’s domestic and foreign policy. For the period from 1807 to 1810. Two proposals were put forward on the further legal status of the free city-state: from joining the Rhine Confederation and «honorable» integration into the First Empire to forced annexation. De jure all trade with the United Kingdom was banned, to which the inhabitants of Hamburg responded by developing smuggling, to which the pro-French administration often ignored. After an unsuccessful attempt to expand the system of official licensing trade in colonial goods, due to the political intrigues of its administrators on the ground, as well as the assassination of F. Staps on Napoleon Bonaparte, the emperor by special decree deprived Hamburg of formal independence, transforming it into a part of France and turning the territory of northern Europe into a bulwark against English colonial goods.

Keywords: Hamburg, Napoleon, Davout, The Continental System, Napoleonic wars

Acknowledgements: The study is sponsored by the Russian Science Foundation, project № 25–18–00510 “Relations between military personnel and civilians during the Napoleonic Wars”.

Chepel A.I., Zamyatina N.A. (St. Petersburg). Taking the Fire on Yourself: on the History of the Death of the Squadron of Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee

ALEKSANDR IVANOVICH CHEPEL

Head of the Department of History and Cultural Studies, PhD in History, Associate Professor

Saint Petersburg State Maritime Technical University

190121, Locmanskaya street, St. Petersburg

e-mail: achepel@mail.ru

NATALIYA ALEKSANDROVNA ZAMYATINA

student of the Faculty of Digital Industrial Technologies

Saint Petersburg State Maritime Technical University

190121, Locmanskaya street, St. Petersburg

e-mail: achepel@mail.ru

Abstract. The article is devoted to the history of the death of the East Asian cruiser squadron of German Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee in the Falklands Battle on December 8, 1914. The authors consider the prehistory of the Falklands Battle, study the organizational decisions of the British Admiralty, which eventually led to the death of the German squadron. It is shown that after Japan entered World War I on the side of the Entente, the German naval base in Qingdao, located on the Chinese coast, could not serve as a safe haven for Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee‘s cruiser squadron. The authors show that the reason was that the naval forces of Great Britain, France and Japan, concentrated in the Pacific region, significantly outnumbered the naval forces of Germany in this theater of operations. The German East Asian cruiser squadron could not defend Qingdao. If the squadron had remained in Qingdao, it would have been trapped in the inner raid of this naval base in the event of an enemy attack. For this reason, the German cruiser squadron left Qingdao and headed for the Atlantic Ocean in order to return to Germany. Along the way, Maximilian von Spee‘s squadron sought to inflict all possible damage on the enemy. As a result, on November 1, 1914, in the Battle of Coronel, the German squadron destroyed the British squadron of Rear Admiral Christopher Cradock. The authors show that as a result of the death of the British squadron, the prestige of the British fleet, which was considered invincible, fell. In addition, insurance rates for maritime freight have increased significantly, which has had a negative impact on British trade. To neutralize the German cruiser squadron, the British Admiralty sent two new battlecruisers of the type «Invincible» to the Pacific Ocean. The authors analyze and compare the tactical and technical characteristics of the German and British ships involved in the Falklands Battle. First of all, the tactical and technical characteristics of the German armored cruisers of the type «Scharnhorst» and the British battlecruisers of the type «Invincible» are compared, the confrontation of which decided the outcome of the battle. The course of the Falklands Battle is being studied; its consequences are being analyzed. The authors show that the death of the German cruiser squadron made it possible to establish British merchant shipping in the Pacific region and free up significant naval forces for use in other theaters of war.

Keywords: Falklands Battle, naval battles of the First World War, First Lord of the British Admiralty Winston Churchill, Admiral John Fisher, Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee, Vice Admiral Frederick Sturdy, armored cruisers of the type «Scharnhorst», battlecruisers of the type «Invincible».

Tuzel A. (St. Petersburg). Political Transformation of Transcaucasia in the Context of the Collapse of the Russian Empire (1917–1918)

ALİ TUZEL

PhD Candidate SPbU

Saint Petersburg State University, Faculty of Oriental Studies

199034, Universitetskaya Emb., 11, St. Petersburg

e–mail: st098320 @student.spbu.ru

Abstract. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the political transformation of Transcaucasia in 1917-1918 following the collapse of the Russian Empire. It examines the key factors that led to the crisis of imperial authority in the region: revolutionary upheavals, the demoralization and disintegration of the Caucasian Army, the rise of national consciousness among Armenians, Georgians, and Azerbaijanis, and the foreign policy and military pressure from the Ottoman Empire. Special attention is paid to the institutional evolution: from the Special Transcaucasian Committee (OZAKOM) and the Transcaucasian Commissariat (Zakkavkom) to the formation of the Transcaucasian Sejm as a regional parliament. The article details the acute contradictions between the national factions within these bodies, the process of military disorganization, and the complex diplomatic negotiations with Turkey, which took place against the backdrop of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. In conclusion, the article analyzes the immediate causes, course, and consequences of the proclamation of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR) on April 22, 1918. It concludes that the new federal government faced insurmountable problems from its inception: a lack of internal consensus, deep interethnic contradictions, a dire economic situation, and continuing external pressure, which soon led to its disintegration and the formation of separate nation-states.

Keywords: Transcaucasia, Russian Empire, 1917 Revolution, national movement, Transcaucasian Commissariat, Transcaucasian Seim, TDFR

Naumova N.N., Sundukova M.O. (Moscow). Official Paris on the Problems of African Decolonization (1958–1960)

NATALIA NIKOLAEVNA NAUMOVA

Candidate of Historical Sciences,

Associate Professor of the Department of Modern and Contemporary

History, Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University.

119234, Moscow, Lomonosovsky Prospekt, 27, building 4

e-mail: naumovafrance@yandex.ru

MARIA OLEGOVNA SUNDUKOVA

2-year Master’s student of the Department of Modern and Contemporary

History of the Faculty of History of Lomonosov Moscow State University.

119234, Moscow, Lomonosovsky Prospekt, 27, building 4

e-mail: mari.sundukova@yandex.ru

Abstract. The article is devoted to France’s policy towards its African territories during the period from 1958 to 1960, a time of significant changes in colonial relations when the Republic faced the need to adapt to new international political conditions. The main focus is on the views of President de Gaulle and his closest associates, who sought to manage a controlled transition to independence for African countries, while maintaining France’s military, economic, and cultural influence on the continent. The article provides a detailed analysis of the 1958 French Community project, proposed by de Gaulle as an attempt to create a new form of colonial connection, alternative to the traditional colonial system, and examines the key ideas behind this project. Special attention is given to the duality of the official rhetoric of the time, which, on the one hand, acknowledged the rights to freedom and independence of African peoples, while, on the other, sought to preserve France’s neo-colonial interests. Based on an analysis of statements made by politicians of the time and press materials, the article explores how these ideas were reflected in the political agenda. The conclusion summarizes the efforts of the Fifth Republic to adapt its policy in the context of the decolonization process and maintain its positions on the African continent, and assesses the impact of these processes on the future of Franco-African relations.

Keywords: decolonization, France, de Gaulle, Fifth Republic, French Community, Africa, colonies, neocolonialism, Franco-African relations, “the year of Africa”

Chudin M.A. (Samara). Finno-Ugric Tribes as Part of Ancient Rus’ in the 9th-13th Centuries: General Trends and Regional Features

MAXIM ARKADYEVICH CHUDIN

3rd year postgraduate student, Samara State University of Economics, Department of Philosophy and History, 141 Sovetskaya Armiya str., Samara, 443090, Russian Federation,

e-mail: 8cobretti@mail.ru

Abstract. In this article, the author examines the Finno-Ugric tribes in the 9th–13th centuries and analyzes the main processes associated with their incorporation into Kievan Rus’ and individual Old Russian lands, as well as the formation of a unified Old Russian nationality. Based on the data examined, including written sources, published archaeological research, and the works of modern Russian scholars, the author concludes that a single scenario existed for the subjugation of compact territories of other tribes into the “Rurik Empire.” This scenario is shaped by the influence of a variety of factors: the development of international trade routes and economic relations, the presence or absence of local tendencies toward state formation, the international political situation in a particular region, and the needs of both the entire Old Russian state and its individual constituent lands. All of these factors contribute to the “acceleration” or “deceleration” of general trends, which creates regional peculiarities but does not eliminate them entirely. The process of subjugation of the Finno-Ugric tribes on the East European Plain can be divided into several stages: 1) the Finno-Ugric community becomes part of the state as an autonomous entity, retaining its traditional centers and structures while paying tribute; 2) the beginning of Slavic colonization (which can occur in several “waves” in the form of “peasant” or “princely”, which contributes to the rapprochement of the two ethnic groups and their Slavicization; 3) the liquidation of autonomy and the beginning of mass Christianization, which contributes to the assimilation of the Finns, while some of them may leave their homes and remain so for a certain period or until the present day.

Keywords: Ancient Rus’, Finno-Ugric tribes, Eastern Slavs, Russian North, Volga region, Slavic colonization, Christianization, dual faith, Old Russian nationality

Kozlov M.N., Meyer D.E. (Sevastopol), Vishnevsky S.A. (Skadovsk). On the Location of the Central Sanctuary of Perun among the Novgorod Slavs of the Pre-Christian Era

MIKHAIL NIKOLAEVICH KOZLOV

Professor, Department of General History and World Culture,

Sevastopol State University,

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor

Sevastopol State University,

299053, Universitetskaya 33, Sevastopol

e-mail: kmn_75@mail.ru

SERGEY ANATOLIEVICH VISHNEVSKY

Head of the Department of Philosophy and History

at Kherson State Pedagogical University,

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor

Kherson State Pedagogical University

275700, Pokrovskaya 7a, Skadovsk

e-mail: aukrosbox@gmail.com

DMITRY EVGENIEVICH MEYER

Postgraduate Student, Department of General History and World Culture,

Sevastopol State University,

Sevastopol State University, 299053, 33 Universitetskaya St., Sevastopol

email: dima.meyer.1998@mail.ru

Abstract. Based on the analysis of the texts of the Tale of Bygone Years and the Novgorod chronicles, as well as materials from archaeological excavations in the Peryn tract near Novgorod, an approximate reconstruction of the location of the central sanctuary of Perun in the lands of the Novgorod Slavs was carried out.

The materials that form the basis of the study have been studied and analyzed, taking into account the chronology of events and the need to obtain historical information from the scientific sources being studied. When comparing different theoretical views on the analyzed problems, the method of comparative and retrospective analysis is used.

The authors conducted a historiographical analysis of the problem posed in the study, identified the main sources used in writing the article. The texts of Ancient Russian chronicles, Novgorod scribal books of the XV-XVII centuries, archaeological research materials, and toponymic data formed the basis of the research source base. The article presents different points of view of Soviet and modern scientists on the archaeological sites discovered in the Peryn tract and the center of ancient Novgorod.

According to the authors, the central Slovene sanctuary of Perun in the pre-Christian era was located on the Trade Side, in the center of ancient Novgorod. In Peryn, on the site of the ruined sanctuary of the Family and the rozhanits, there was another temple of Perun.

Keywords: Ancient Novgorod, the Peryn tract, the idol of Perun, the pagan sanctuary, the bridge over the Volkhov

Kadyrbayev A.Sh. (Moscow) Koldaeva Ts.Ts., Mukhlaeva D.Y. (Elista). Kalmyks and Bashkirs in the 16th-17th Centuries: On the History of Relations

ALEXANDER SH. KADYRBAEV

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Chief Research Fellow

Department of the History of the East

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

12, Rozhdestvenka St., Moscow, 107031

e-mail: kadyr_50@mail.ru

TSAGAN TS. KOLDAEVA

Senior Lecturer

Department of Russian History, Documentation and Archival Studies

Faculty of Humanities

Kalmyk State University named after B.B. Gorodovikov

11, A.S. Pushkin St., Elista, 358000

e-mail: tsagankoldaeva@mail.ru

DANARA YU. MUKHLAEVA

Senior Lecturer

Department of Russian History, Documentation and Archival Studies

Faculty of Humanities

Kalmyk State University named after B.B. Gorodovikov

11, A.S. Pushkin St., Elista, 358000

e-mail: imirdykova@mail.ru

Abstract. This study offers a comprehensive analysis of the formation and evolution of the relationship between Bashkirs and Kalmyks in the XVI-XVII centuries. The relevance of this scientific problem is due to its obvious lack of study in Russian and foreign historiography, as well as the lack of special works devoted specifically to this aspect of regional history. The methodological basis of the work is based on the principles of interdisciplinary and civilizational-cultural approaches, which allows for a systematic and multifaceted analysis of complex historical processes at the junction of the nomadic and settled worlds.

The main purpose of the study is a comprehensive reconstruction of the dynamics of political, economic and cultural contacts between the Mongolian-speaking Kalmyks and the Turkic-speaking Bashkirs. A special scientific novelty of the work is attracted by the introduction into wide scientific circulation of a whole body of previously unpublished archival materials. The geographical scope of the study covers a vast territory from the Trans-Urals and Western Siberia to the Lower Volga region, where key events took place that had a significant impact on the historical destinies of both peoples. Special attention is paid to the complex geopolitical role of Bashkir society, which found itself in the sphere of influence of two powerful centers of power – the Moscow centralized state and Kalmyk nomadic associations. The established chronological framework allows us to trace the transformation of relations in the context of major historical transformations that determined their further development.

Keywords: Kalmyks, Oirats, Bashkirs, Siberian Khanate on the Tobol, Siberia, Kuchum Khan, Kuchumovichi (Descendants of Kuchum), Tatars, Taisha, Moscow Tsardom

Shikhanov N.A. (Elista). Diplomatic Gifts in the Context of “Soft Power” in Russian-Kalmyk Relations at the Turn of the 17th and Early 18th Centuries

NAMSYR A. SHIKHANOV

Junior Researcher

Kalmyk Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences

358000, Elista, K. Ilishkin St., 8

ORCID: 0000-0001-7273-7253.

e-mail: nshikhanov@gmail.com

Abstract. The article analyzes diplomatic gifts as a tool of “soft power” in Russian-Kalmyk relations at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, which played an important role in establishing diplomatic relations, and then in strengthening them and creating a lasting alliance between Russia and the Kalmyk Khanate. Special attention is paid to the context of historical events and political realities of that time. Special attention is paid to the symbolic meaning of gifts reflecting the cultural values of both sides. The source database consists of documents from the archival collections of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts and the National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia. Based on archival materials and historical literature, the main trends and features of diplomatic gifts in Russian-Kalmyk relations have been identified. The study analyzes which gifts were given to top officials and how they influenced their decisions. The article shows how gifts were used to convince, form a positive image of the state and strengthen mutually beneficial allied ties.

Keywords: Kalmyk Khanate, Kalmyks, diplomacy, embassy, gifts, gifts, soft power

Acknowledgements: The article was prepared as part of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 23-18-20019 «Between East and West: the civilizational and cultural development of Kalmyk society as part of pre-revolutionary Russia»

Pysin S.A. (Voronezh). On the Organization and Holding of Sailing Races by the Kiev Yacht Club on the Dnieper River in the Late Nineteenth Century

SERGEY ANATOLYEVICH PYSIN

Applicant

Voronezh State Agrarian

University named after Emperor Peter I,

1 Michurina St., Voronezh, 394087, Russia

e-mail: Serh0701@yandex.ru,

Abstract. The study of this area of social life of the Russian Empire at the end of the nineteenth century is relevant due to insufficient study. The purpose of this topic is to study some historical aspects of the organization and holding of sailing competitions on the Dnieper by the Kiev Yacht Club in the period from 1888 to 1896. The source of information for this study were reports on the activities of the Kyiv Yacht Club for 1892-1896 and an essay by a member of the Kyiv Yacht Club Nikolai Vladimirovich Dombrovsky on the first decade of its activity. The establishment of the characteristics of the topic under study and the receipt of accurate quantitative indicators were facilitated by the use of the principles of statistical analysis of ancient documents, objectivity and historicism. As a result of the analysis, it was established that the Kyiv Yacht Club was active in the field of organizing and holding sports competitions on the water between ships equipped with sails. Such competitions were annual, were held several times during navigation and aroused great interest among the public. Sailing competitions were held at different distances: from several hundred fathoms to several miles. When organizing the races, weather conditions, wind direction, and river flow speed were taken into account. The results achieved by the athletes were clearly recorded, and the winners were awarded well-deserved prizes. The activities of the Kyiv Yacht Club in the field of sailing races were quite organized and synchronized. The yacht club had many types of vessels at its disposal that could take part in water competitions with other yacht clubs of the Russian Empire, which were operating at that time.

Keywords: Russian Empire, water societies, yacht club, formation, activity, commander, river, sport, association, sailing race, report, distance, prize

Bovaev N.B. (Elista). The Socio-cultural Appearance of the Kalmyk Steppe in the 1890s: a Study Based on the Materials of the Astrakhan Governor

NIKOLAI BORISOVICH BOVAEV

Junior Researcher of the Research Department

Kalmyk State University

358000, Russia, Elista, Pushkina Street, 11

e-mail: bovaev677@gmail.com

Abstract. The object of the study. This study is devoted to the study of the social structures of the Kalmyk nomadic society at the turn of the XIX and XX centuries. The report of the Astrakhan Governor M. A. Gazenkampf for 1899 is used as the main source. The choice of this report is due to its informative nature, which makes it possible to analyze the key spheres of life of the Kalmyk nomadic population and determine the stage of its socio-economic development at the end of the XIX century. The article offers a detailed analysis of this report. The article analyzes the conclusions and recommendations set out in the report of the Astrakhan governor for 1899, with an emphasis on evaluating his proposed measures to reform the social system of Kalmyk society and identifying his personal position on this issue. This study was conducted in order to identify the priorities of state policy in relation to the Kalmyks of the Astrakhan province at the turn of the XIX – XX centuries. The analysis of the governor’s proposals to improve their socio-economic situation is carried out on the basis of archival documents from the fund No. 1 of the Office of the Astrakhan Civil Governor. The research based on the report of the Astrakhan governor acts as a methodologically significant source for the study of the Kalmyk steppe at the turn of the XIX – XX centuries, providing important information for the study of ethnosocial and political processes in the region and making a significant contribution to the historiography of nomadic civilizations of southern Russia. The work is based on the principles of analysis and synthesis, reliability, objectivity, the methodological basis of the research is a systematic approach, which is based on the consideration of the object as an integral complex of interrelated elements. The archival materials of the Astrakhan Civil Governor’s Office Fund are a valuable source of information about the life and lifestyle of the Kalmyk population during the period under study. The scientific novelty of the work lies in a comprehensive analysis of these materials, which allows us to reconstruct the features of nomadic life in the Kalmyk steppe and identify the reasons that determined the governor’s views on reforming the social structure of Kalmyk society in the pre-revolutionary period. The introduction of new archival data into scientific circulation makes it possible to describe in detail the socio-economic situation of the Kalmyk population and trace the stages of their integration into the process of state reforms.

Keywords: Astrakhan, governor, Kalmyks, population, trustee, social life steppe, ulus, administration of the Kalmyk people, tract

Bakanov A.V. (Makhachkala). Tourism Development in the Caucasus, 19th – Early 20th Centuries (part 2)

ALEXANDER V. BAKANOV

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Independent researcher

367030, Russia, Makhachkala,

e-mail: mr.bakanov85@mail.ru

Abstract. With the end of the Caucasian War, the Caspian-Black Sea region became a relatively calm and secure space. Since then, these territories began to develop both economically and infrastructurally, and by the end of the 19th century, some areas of the Caucasus were in no way inferior to the inland provinces of Russia. During this period, an extensive network of transport communications was established, and the region became interconnected with other regions of the all-Russian space. All the conditions for the improvement of old and the creation of new recreational areas, as well as the active development of tourism, were in place. As the study showed, the main areas of tourist activity in the Caucasus during that period were the eastern Black Sea coast and the Caucasian Mineral Waters area, due to the safety and development of this area. Until 1917, the old tourist infrastructure was actively evolving and new ones were being created, hotels and boarding houses were built, restaurants and various entertainment venues opened, which ultimately led to the popularization of Caucasian resorts among tourists. Beginning in the late 19th century, the flow of tourists there only increased, and by the early 20th century, thousands of people from all over Russia were vacationing there. Typically, all vacationers were from the middle class. From time to time, members of the upper class also visited.

Keywords: Russian Empire, Caucasus, tourism, resorts, Caucasian Mineral Waters, Black Sea

Kulikov S.V. (St. Petersburg). The Autocracy of the Russian Empire of the 19th and Early 20th Centuries: Absolutism and Despotism or Sovereignty and Legality?

SERGEY VIKTOROVICH KULIKOV

Candidate of Historical Sciences,

Senior Researcher at the Department of Modern History of Russia,

Saint Petersburg Institute of History,

Russian Academy of Sciences,

190005, Petrozavodskaya St., 7, St. Petersburg

e-mail: sergeykulikov70@mail.ru

Abstract. In the article, in the context of the history of concepts, the problem of the correlation of autocracy with absolutism and despotism is considered in relation to the Russian Empire of the XIX – early XX century. Russian and Western historiography traditionally identify these concepts, although at the beginning of the 20th century even apologists of autocracy recognized that it, as a concept, is ambiguous. The author explores the problem based on legislative sources, first of all, the Fundamental State Laws of 1832-1892, and on the works of Russian historians and historians of the specified period, including – to such a unique and unexplored source as the “Statesman’s Handbook for Russia”, compiled for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in 1896. Article 1 of the Fundamental Laws, which declared the Emperor of All Russia autocratic and unlimited, was based on acts in which autocracy was understood as sovereignty, not absolutism. Only in the Institution of the Imperial Family of Paul I was the autocrat called unlimited, however, only in relation to his relatives, not subjects. It is no coincidence that Count M.M. Speransky, who led the drafting of the Fundamental Laws, laid down a whole tradition of separating the concepts of “autocracy” and “unlimited” and understanding “autocracy” as sovereignty. Speransky also separated the concepts of “autocracy” and “despotism” and identified “autocracy” and “legality”, substantiating the doctrine of legitimate autocracy. Following Speransky, Russian statesmen and jurists, representatives of “old liberalism,” interpreted autocracy as sovereignty and legality, and this interpretation became a key element of the Russian official ideology of the 19th century. Only at the beginning of the XX century. Representatives of the “new liberalism” have revised this ideology to legitimize their struggle for power, driven by a pronounced resentment.

Keywords: autocracy, autocratic, autocrat, absolutism, unlimited, despotism, sovereignty, legality

Zubov A.Yu. (St. Petersburg). The mood of the officer corps of the Vladivostok cruiser detachment in 1904–1905

ALEXEY YU. ZUBOV

Saint Petersburg State University of Civil Aviation named after Chief Marshal of Aviation A.A. Novikov, Senior lecturer of the Department of History and Personnel Management

196210, St. Petersburg, Pilotov Street, 38

e-mail: aleksey.zubow2013@yandex.ru

Abstract. This article examines the evolution of the officer corps’ attitudes in the Vladivostok Cruiser Detachment during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. The author analyzes the officers’ psychological state at various stages of the military conflict, tracing the transformation of their views from initial patriotic enthusiasm and confidence in a quick victory to deep disappointment and the realization of the inevitability of defeat.

Based on diary entries, the memoirs of participants, and archival materials, the author depicts the dynamics of the officer corps’ morale during actual combat. Particular attention is given to heroic episodes, including the sinking of the cruiser Rurik, where the officers demonstrated exceptional courage, professionalism, and presence of mind even in the face of certain death.

The study reveals how the detachment’s officers, serving under the command of Rear Admiral K.P. Despite Iessen’s high level of training and personal bravery, he could not compensate for the systemic shortcomings in the fleet’s organization, strategic planning, and overall command of the war. The Vladivostok cruiser detachment remained the only Russian naval unit in the Pacific Ocean to escape complete destruction, a testament to both the resilience of its personnel and the command’s sound tactical decisions in critical situations.

Keywords: Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905, Vladivostok Cruiser Detachment, officer morale, Russian naval history, Rear Admiral K.P. Jessen, cruiser “Rurik”, Korean Strait, combat operations, patriotism, officer corps professionalism

Golovanov E.S. (Omsk). Ideological Preparation in the Russian Army (1905–1914) as a Practice of Discursive Construction of Loyalty

EVGENII SERGEEVICH GOLOVANOV
Postgraduate student, Department of Russian History
Omsk State Pedagogical University
644099, Russia, Omsk, Tukhachevsky Emb., 14
e-mail: golevserg@mail.ru

Abstract. Based on the methodology of political discourse theory (E. Laclau, C. Mouffe), the article analyzes the state strategy of forming loyalty in the Russian army during the interwar period (1905–1914). The study is based on materials from military-theoretical journalism and normative legal acts of that time. Ideological preparation is considered as a command’s reaction to the deep crisis of legitimacy and combat capability caused by the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and revolutionary events. The author reconstructs the mechanisms of “suturing” the social space of the army through the intensification of the triad “For Faith, Tsar and Fatherland”. It is revealed that the hegemonic strategy relied not only on direct religious education but also on the instrumentalization of the traditional sacredness of military rituals (oath) and symbols (banner), creating the effect of “displaced Christianity”. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the structural antagonisms of the project. It is shown that the incompleteness of the formation of the “conscious fighter” type was due not only to the socio-cultural gap between the officers and the peasant mass but also to the internal conflict of the military-theoretical discourse: the unresolved contradiction between the “romantic” (irrational-volitional) and “realistic” (psychological) doctrines of education. It is concluded that this discursive incompleteness left the soldier’s consciousness fragmented and vulnerable to affective discursive practices in the conditions of the First World War.

Keywords: Russian Imperial Army, World War I, military psychology, military propaganda, patriotism, political loyalty, state ideology, discourse theory

Sergeev M.A. (Elabuga). The General State of the Troops of the Kazan Military District in the Context of the Reorganization of the Army (Based on the Humblest Report of the Commander of the Troops of the Kazan Military District, Alexander Genrikhovich Sandetsky, for 1910)

MAXIM ANDREEVICH SERGEEV

Postgraduate Student, Department of General and National History

Yelabuga Institute (branch) of the Federal State Autonomous Educational

Institution of Higher Education Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University

423600, Yelabuga, Kazanskaya St., Bldg. 89

e–mail: maxxxx1998@mail.ru

Abstract. This article presents the general state of the Kazan Military District’s troops in the context of the military reforms of 1905–1912. It analyzes the 1910 report of the district’s commander, Alexander Genrikhovich Sandetsky, who held this position from 1907 to 1912. This report allows us to trace the process of army reform at the regional level, identifying its specific features and implementation challenges. The study covers the second stage of these reforms, which involved the centralization of senior military command, the reorganization of the army, and the improvement of its technical equipment.

The analysis identified key changes in the district’s structure: the transfer and augmentation of the XVI Army Corps and the creation of the XXIV Army Corps, the reorganization of reserve units into field units, and changes in the army’s deployment. Particular attention is paid to troop deployment, personnel composition, sanitary conditions, and combat training. Issues hindering the implementation of these measures are highlighted.

The author concludes that, despite the successful implementation of the reform to reorganize the army in the Kazan Military District, a number of serious shortcomings have emerged that require further elimination.

Keywords: Kazan Military District, Imperial Report, Military Reforms of 1905-1912, Army Reorganization, A.I. Kosich, I.A. Karass, A.G. Sandetsky, XVI and XXIV Army Corps, Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, Revolution of 1905-1907, Anti-Semitism, School of Young Scouts

Potemkin I.A. (Moscow). The Police of Petrograd and Moscow in the Fight Against Strikes and Sabotage at Defense Enterprises during the First World War

IGOR ANATOLYEVICH POTEMKIN

Head of the Department for the Study of Historical Problems of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Research Center of the Academy of Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia

125993, Moscow, Zoya and Alexander Kosmodemyanskikh St., Building 8

e-mail: igor.potiomkin@yandex.ru

Abstract. The article highlights the activities of the political and general police of Petrograd and Moscow in the fight against strikes and sabotage at defense factories that produce military products for the needs of the front, Military and Naval departments during the First World War. The Petrograd and Moscow security departments are at the forefront of the struggle. Strikes and sabotage by workers at government-owned and private enterprises posed a great threat to disrupting the supply of military products. In wartime, this threatened the logistical support of the army. The intelligence and information network of Security departments and gendarmerie departments carried out their work, identifying the organizers and instigators of the riots. Revolutionary agitators who infiltrated factories and enterprises in order to organize strikes with political and anti-war demands, as well as create party cells, were particularly dangerous. In addition, the political police had to deal with espionage and sabotage at defense factories and enterprises. In this work, the gendarmerie police established relationships with the general police officers. In preparing this article, documents from the central archives of Russia, materials from periodicals of various years, memoir literature and historiography were used.

Keywords: World War I, Petrograd, Moscow, general and political police, security departments, gendarmerie, strike, sabotage, factories and enterprises, defense order, agents, workers

Zatesova O.M. (Khabarovsk). The formation the mother and child welfare system in the Far East (1922–1926)

OLGA MIKHAILOVNA ZATESOVA

Associate Professor of the Department of Theory and History of State and Law FESTU,
Candidate of Historical Sciences
Far Eastern State Transport University (FESTU)
680021, Serysheva street, 47, Khabarovsk
e-mail: olgazhs@rambler.ru

Abstract. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the formation of the mother and child welfare system (Okhmatmlad) in the Soviet Far East between 1922 and 1926. Drawing on previously unpublished archival documents from the Khabarovsk Krai State Archive and the Zabaykalsky Krai State Archive, it reconstructs the organizational structure of Okhmatmlad departments and examines their funding mechanisms and staffing. The study focuses on the contradiction between the ambitious tasks set by the state and the region’s limited resources. The author details practical efforts to address key issues: organizing childcare institutions (“detgnëzdyshki” nurseries, infant homes), combating abortions and child homelessness, and conducting sanitary education work. Special attention is paid to regional specifics in implementing national policies, influenced by the aftermath of the Civil War, remoteness from the center, and settlement patterns. The research demonstrates that while an organizational framework for mother and child welfare was established, its effectiveness was hampered by chronic underfunding, shortage of qualified personnel, and poor material-technical infrastructure.

Keywords: mother and child welfare, Far East, Soviet healthcare, social policy, history of medicine, Dalzdrav

Krasnokutskaya L.I., Velichko I.V. (Zheleznovodsk). The Development of Pedagogical Education in the 1930s: The Case of the Mineralnye Vody Pedagogical College near Pyatigorsk

LIDIYA IVANOVNA KRASNOKUTSKAYA

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Historical and Philological Disciplines, Zheleznovodsk Branch of the Stavropol State Pedagogical Institute

Russia, Zheleznovodsk, Inozemtsevo, 357430

e-mail: karrass55@mail.ru

IRINA VLADIMIROVNA VELICHKO

Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Historical and Philological Disciplines, Zheleznovodsk Branch of the Stavropol State Pedagogical Institute

Russia, Zheleznovodsk, Inozemtsevo, 357430

e-mail: velichkoir@yandex.ru

Abstract. The work is devoted to a little-studied problem of the history of the formation and development of secondary specialized pedagogical professional education in the 30s of the XX century. The main stages of its formation and development are analyzed. The problematic issues of theoretical and practical teacher training for schools of the first stage in connection with the fulfillment of the tasks of universal education are considered from the point of view of the development of pedagogical education. The scope of the tasks of training teachers to solve the tasks of universal education from 1925 to 1934 in the Tersk district of the North Caucasus Region and their implementation using the example of the Mineralovodsk Pedagogical College near Pyatigorsk are revealed. The main difficulties in its formation are highlighted: the formation of a teaching staff, the educational and logistical base, the recruitment and retention of a contingent of students, and the implementation of graduation plans. The statistics of the deployment of pedagogical technical schools and their dynamics are given. The issues of theoretical and practical training are revealed on the basis of the content of the curricula of technical schools, which have been repeatedly adjusted in terms of advanced training of the future school teacher of the first stage. Based on the list of general education disciplines of the curriculum, the desire of the ideologists of education to solve the problems of achieving the classical training of the future teacher is noted. The article analyzes subject methods and the place of practice in the educational process, flexible approaches in its organization to overcome the acute shortage of primary school teachers to solve the problems of universal education. The level of polytechnic training of future teachers is revealed through the ability to work in three types of production workshops and on a household experimental site. The participation of students in solving the tasks of completing universal education is highlighted through the mastery of a new form of learning – the introduction of methods of independent work of students. There is a serious organizational, ideological work, and its mobilization nature, by the country’s public education authorities and local authorities to normalize the activities of institutions of secondary pedagogical professional education.

Keywords: Mineralovodsk Pedagogical College, general education, curriculum, school of the first stage, practice

Medvedev S.V., Fedyakin A.V., Fedyakin I.V. (Moscow). The People’s Commissariat of Road Transport and Motor Transport Enterprises in the First Months of the Great Patriotic War

SERGEY VLADIMIROVICH MEDVEDEV

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor,

Associate Professor of the Department of History at the Russian

University of Transport (MIIT),

127055, Moscow, Obraztsova Street, 9, Building 9

e-mail: speransky1809@yandex.ru

ALEXEY VLADIMIROVICH FEDYAKIN

Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor,

Head of the Department of History at the Russian University of Transport (MIIT),

127055, Moscow, Obraztsova Street, 9, Building 9

e-mail: avf2010@yandex.ru

IVAN VLADIMIROVICH FEDYAKIN

Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor

Head of the Department of Philosophy at the Russian University of Transport (MIIT),

127055, Moscow, Obraztsova Street, 9, Building 9

e-mail: fedyakin_iv@mail.ru

Abstract. The article is devoted to the activities of the motor transport offices and factories subordinate to the People’s Commissariat of Motor Transport. The authors use the orders of the People’s Commissar of Road Transport, A.N. Kurshev, the reporting documents of inspection bodies, and the speeches of the Deputy People’s Commissars as sources. The article covers a wide range of issues faced by the motor transport offices and factories, including the lack of transparency in the financial activities of the structural units, logistical disruptions that led to the disruption of planned transportation, and the shortage of automobile spare parts and their delayed delivery to the enterprises. The authors of the study focus on the activities of the Department of Capital Construction, the Main Operating Department, and the Technical Department. These units of the People’s Commissariat of Road Transport were subjected to the most criticism from People’s Commissar A.N. Kurshev, and two of the three heads of these institutions were dismissed a year and a half after the start of the Great Patriotic War. The orders of the People’s Commissariat of Road Transport pay great attention to the condition of the vehicle fleet and the fuel supply system of the road transport departments. The authors of the article conclude that the management of road transport in the first months of the war was carried out in an emergency mode, and there were numerous cases of non-compliance with the orders of the People’s Commissar by structural units.

Keywords: People’s Commissariat of the Automotive Industry, trusts, fuel stations, supply of auto parts, Great Patriotic War

Chernukha R.M. (Moscow). Problems of Training Command and Officer Personnel in Military Educational Institutions of the NKVD troops of the USSR during the First Period of the Great Patriotic War

ROSTISLAV MIKHAILOVICH CHERNUKHA

Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor,

senior researcher at the Scientific Research Center

(fundamental military-historical problems)

Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

125047, Moscow, Bolshaya Sadovaya St., 14

e-mail: chernukha_rm@mail.ru

Abstract. The article considers the problems of training cadets and students of military educational institutions of the NKVD troops during the first period of the Great Patriotic War (1941–1942). In the course of the analysis of the activities of the NKVD military educational institutions, positive and negative factors that influenced the quality of training of the command and command staff were identified. Positive factors include the staffing of military schools based on the selection of candidates from among the most experienced soldiers and junior command personnel, the revision of curricula taking into account the experience of military operations and the specialization of the service and combat use of troops. Among the negative factors are noted: a low level of education of candidates in some cases, which created significant difficulties in the training of primarily specialist commanders; the transition to reduced training periods for command and command personnel; problems of staffing the NKVD military educational institutions with permanent command and teaching staff, with combat experience and mastery of teaching methods; the deployment of military educational institutions in their entirety to the active army and to perform special tasks as decided by the government and the command of the troops; the diversion of cadets from their studies to address economic issues; the redeployment and reorganization of military educational institutions and their poor material and technical equipment.

Keywords: The Great Patriotic War, military educational institutions of the NKVD troops, command staff, cadets, training of command personnel

Vafin M.O. (Khabarovsk). «The Task Has Been Set – Not a Single Unsolved Case of Theft of Imports»: Activities of the NKVD Water Militia Department of the Amur Basin to Combat Theft of Socialist Property on Waterways in 1943

MAXIM OLEGOVICH VAFIN

candidate of historical sciences

Associate Professor of the Department of social, humanitarian and

economic disciplines

Far Eastern Home Ministry Law Institute of the Russia

named after I.F. Shilov.

680020, Russia, Khabarovsk, lane 15 Kazarmenny street.

e-mail: vafin_1992@mail.ru

Abstract. The article analyzes the activities of the NKVD Water Militia Department of the Amur basin in countering theft of socialist property in 1943. In parallel, the author presented a brief retrospective analysis of the evolution of the water militia from its creation in 1918 to 1943. The paper notes that one of the key tasks of the Amur basin water militia in 1943 was the protection of imported goods transported along river routes, some of which arrived under lend-lease and were considered strategically important for ensuring the active front and supplying remote areas of the southern Far East of the USSR. A characteristic feature of the activities of the water militia was its dependence on climatic conditions. The author emphasizes that almost the entire personnel of the NKVD Water Militia Department of the Amur basin, from operational staff of the OBHSS to non-operational and ordinary personnel, participated in the implementation of tasks to protect goods transported by water transport. The article states that the effectiveness of the water militia was ensured by an integrated approach: a combination of preventive and investigative measures, the creation of additional operational posts in places of heavy cargo traffic, as well as close cooperation with the management of shipping companies and party authorities. It has been established that in the conditions of an acute criminogenic situation in water transport, the internal affairs bodies ensured a high level of detection of economic crimes in the Amur basin.

Keywords: Water Militia, NKVD of the USSR, Amur basin, waterways, water transport, theft of socialist property, economic crime, imported goods, lend-lease, USSR, Far East, The Great Patriotic War

Piankevich V.L., Rakhmanova T.D. (St. Petersburg). Spontaneous Market Trade in Leningrad during the Siege in Visual Evidence

VLADIMIR LEONIDOVICH PIANKEVICH

Doctor of historical sciences,

professor at the St. Petersburg State University

199034, Russian Federation,

St. Petersburg, Universitetskaia nab. 7–9.

e-mail: v.pyankevich@spbu.ru

TATYANA DMITRIEVNA RAKHMANOVA

Research fellow at the St. Petersburg State University

199034, Russian Federation,

St. Petersburg, Universitetskaia nab. 7–9.

e-mail: pevica@yandex.ru

Abstract. The article is devoted to the study of the role and visual image of spontaneous markets that emerged and operated in Leningrad during the blockade. The markets were one of the few islands of life in the city during the first deadly winter of the siege. There is considerable evidence of market trading, of what spontaneous blockade bargaining looked like, and of its participants in the diaries, letters, memoirs, and interviews of blockade survivors. There is significantly less visual evidence of this phenomenon, in part because capturing the appearance of flea markets was not a priority for photographers, artists, and architects, thanks to whom photographs and drawings did appear. Photographs and paintings confirm what is written in the diaries, memoirs, and letters of those who survived the siege. Photographs and paintings on the one hand, and written testimonies from survivors of the siege of Leningrad about the spontaneous markets of besieged Leningrad, do not contradict each other, but rather agree with each other. Visual sources complement the ideas about spontaneous market trade in the besieged city found in written sources.

Keywords: The Great Patriotic War, siege of Leningrad, market, flea market, social history of the war, history of everyday life

Solomakha E.N., Starikova N.V., Smirnitskiy A.Y. (Нижний Новгород). Problems of organizing leisure time for Soviet schoolchildren in the first post-war years 1946-1956 (based on materials from the city of Gorky)

ELENA NIKOLAEVNA SOLOMAKHA

Associate Professor, Department of Russian History and Auxiliary Historical Disciplines, PhD in History

Kozma Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University, 603950

Minin Square, 7, Nizhny Novgorod,

e-mail: elenasolomakha@yandex.ru

NINA VLADIMIROVNA STARIKOVA

Head of the Department of Russian History and Auxiliary Historical Disciplines, K. Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University, PhD in History, Associate Professor

Kozma Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University, 7 Minin Square, Nizhny Novgorod, 603950 Minina St., 7, Nizhny Novgorod

e-mail: ninast78@yandex.ru

ALEXANDER EVGENYEVICH SMIRNITSKY

Associate Professor, Department of Theory and History of State and Law,

Nizhny Novgorod Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor

603144 Ankudinovskoye Shosse, 3, Nizhny Novgorod

e-mail: ya.alex-smir1974@yandex.ru

Abstract. One of the most interesting issues in the history of the development of Soviet comprehensive schools in the first post-war decade is the organization of leisure activities for Soviet schoolchildren. The purpose of this article is to identify the main problems in organizing leisure activities for Soviet schoolchildren in the first post-war years and to determine the effectiveness of addressing these challenges under the extremely difficult conditions of that time. The article examines the difficulties in organizing schoolchildren’s leisure activities during the post-war period, ranging from economic and communal issues to issues of personnel training. The country lost a third of its national wealth during the Great Patriotic War. Rebuilding the war-torn infrastructure required colossal resources; nevertheless, the state devoted enormous attention to the educational process both in and outside of school. Archival documents from the city of Gorky reveal that in 1951-1952, schoolchildren engaged in small-scale trading at the market. The article reveals shortcomings in organizing children’s leisure activities. For example, on the one hand, schools competed with the streets for children’s minds; on the other, admission to hobby clubs required good academic performance, with grades of “good” and “excellent.” The article demonstrates that the Soviet state’s organization of children’s leisure time was not intended to isolate children from the influence of the street, especially since this was impossible. The primary goal of the Communist Party and the Soviet state was to develop in schoolchildren a strong immunity to various forms of antisocial behavior. Certain positive experiences of the Soviet school system can and should be applied today.

Keywords: schoolchildren’s leisure time, party line, archival documents, club activities, successes and failures in organizing leisure time in the post-war years, school difficulties

Boyko N.S., Filatov A.V. (Ulyanovsk). Industrial development of the Ulyanovsk region in 1958–1965

NATALIA SEMENOVNA BOYKO

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Ulyanovsk State

Pedagogical University named after I.N. Ulyanov,

4 Lenin Square, Ulyanovsk, 432071, Russian Federation,

orcid.org/ 0000-0003-3574-4731, e-mail: nboyko2005@mail.ru

ARTEM VLADIMIROVICH FILATOV

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, I.N. Ulyanov Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, 4 Lenin Square, Ulyanovsk, 432071, Russia,

orcid.org/0000-0002-2000-2965, e-mail: 2740604@mail.ru

Abstract. The article presents a comprehensive analysis of archival materials devoted to the implementation of the seven-year industrial development plan of the Ulyanovsk region in the period 1958-1965. Key production indicators, over-fulfillment and under-fulfillment of the plan for individual enterprises and industries, the introduction of technological progress, mechanization and automation of production, as well as problems of labor productivity and product quality are considered. Special attention is paid to the role of the chemical and textile industries, the development of new types of products and organizational aspects of industrial management. The presented archival materials reflect a comprehensive approach to the analysis of the political situation and the state of industrial production, emphasizing the need for systemic measures to modernize equipment, improve product quality and develop new industries, which corresponded to the objectives of the seven-year plan and party decisions of the period under study.

The main sources were archival documents and materials from the regional State Archive of Contemporary History of the Ulyanovsk Region (GANI UO).

Based on the analysis, the main successes and shortcomings of the plan have been identified, as well as recommendations for improving the efficiency of industrial production in the region.

Keywords: production, industry, seven-year plan, technical progress, Ulyanovsk region

Levin Ya.K. (Moscow). Cooperation as a Factor of the Destruction of the Financial and Economic System of the USSR

YAROSLAV KONSTANTINOVICH LEVIN

2^nd year Master’s student of the Department of Russian History of the XX－XXI centuries. Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University

Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU),

119234, Lomonosovsky Avenue, 27, building 4, Moscow

e-mail: faculty@hist.msu.ru

Abstract. This article is devoted to the study of one of the important issues of the USSR economy during the period of “perestroika” － the development of the cooperative movement, which was launched in February 1987, when the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted several resolutions regulating the work of cooperatives. The purpose of this article is to analyze how the right to organize cooperatives became the de facto legalization of the shadow economy and why the revived private sector has become a convenient and legal tool for interested groups to commit various economic crimes. The source was a number of archival documents from the late 1980s and early 1990s, indicating the impact of cooperation on the economy and the criminal situation in the country. The historiographical base on the topic is not numerous, but it has tended to expand in recent years; first of all, these are the works of such authors as A.V. Safronov, R.G. Kirsanov, N.S. Simonov. The methodological base includes a systematic approach, a comparative historical method. In addition, the article also discusses the impact of cooperatives on the general decline of the socio-economic situation in the last years of the USSR, in particular, the inflationary explosion, as well as shortcomings in the legal regulation of cooperatives. It is concluded that many cooperatives turned out to be just a cover for the legalization of shadow capital and the commission of economic crimes.

Keywords: cooperation, cooperative movement, inflation, shadow economy, criminalization of the economy, disruption of the financial system

Savelyev A.V., Boyko N.S. (Ulyanovsk). Implementation of the reform on the reorganization of machine and tractor stations (MTS) in 1957–1958

ALEXEY VASILYEVICH SAVELYEV

Applicant, Department of History, Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical

University named after I.N. Ulyanov,

432071, Russian Federation, Ulyanovsk, Lenin Square, 4,

orcid.org/0009-0002-3563-6829, e-mail: rasit56@mail.ru

NATALIA SEMENOVNA BOYKO

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Ulyanovsk State

Pedagogical University named after I.N. Ulyanov,

4 Lenin Square, Ulyanovsk, 432071, Russian Federation,

orcid.org/ 0000-0003-3574-4731, e-mail: nboyko2005@mail.ru

Abstract. Machine and tractor stations, created in the 1920s during the formation of collective farms of various types, played a significant role both economically and politically. The article attempts to study the trend in the implementation of party-state policy after the end of the operation of machine and tractor stations throughout the country and, in particular, in the Ulyanovsk region. The trend of decision-making and actions to reorganize machine and tractor stations is analyzed. The initially planned three-year transfer of all agricultural machinery to collective farms and the operation of tractor stations was carried out locally in a short period of time, during the year. Ultimately, all this affected the economic situation of collective farms and artels, and some of the transferred agricultural machinery needed to be repaired, and, in addition, problems such as the availability of machine personnel arose. The presented material is supported by a set of citations and statistical data with links to primary sources. The main sources were archival documents and materials from the Russian State Archive of Economics (RGAE). F. 4372. (State Planning Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (Gosplan of the USSR); State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF). F. A310. (Ministry of Agriculture); Russian State Archive of Modern History (RGANI). F. 2. (Khrushchev’s “thaw” in the documents of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU) and from the regional State Archive of the modern history of the Ulyanovsk region (GANI UO), the main focus was on cases from Fund 8, the Ulyanovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU and the affairs of rural district committees of the CPSU. The results of the research can be used in scientific, practical and local history work, as well as in the development of lessons on the history of the native land in higher and secondary educational institutions of the Ulyanovsk region.

Keywords: Machine and tractor stations (MTS), Ulyanovsk region, collective farm, artel, tractor, reorganization, Central Committee of the CPSU.

Baduginova M.V. (Elista). Medical Care of the Rural Population in the 1970s–1980s (Based on the Materials of the Kalmyk ASSR)

MARGARITA VLADIMIROVNA BADUGINOVA

Senior Researcher, «Kalmyk Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences», Candidate of Historical Sciences,

358000, Ilishkina street, 8, Elista

ORCID: 0000-0002-2805-5818

e-mail: mbaduginova@gmail.com

Abstract. Based on archival documents, statistical materials and regulatory acts, the article examines the state of the rural healthcare system in the Kalmyk ASSR in the 1970s and 1980s. The study considers how socio-economic and natural-geographical factors influenced the development of rural medicine. The research shows that the 1970s were generally favorable for the growth of the republican healthcare system: the network of medical institutions expanded, the material and technical base improved and staffing levels increased. At the same time, the region continued to face several problems, such as a shortage of specialized doctors, weak coordination between institutions and insufficient telephone service and water supply in many healthcare facilities. In the early 1980s, state policy measures, including resolutions of the Councils of Ministers of the USSR and the RSFSR along with republican programs aimed at improving medical infrastructure, expanding healthcare facilities and strengthening preventive work, helped reduce some of these imbalances. The article also uses the example of medical services provided in the seasonal pastoral areas of the Kalmyk ASSR to show how medical and sanitary assistance was organized in sparsely populated and remote locations. Despite these efforts, rural healthcare in the republic during this period continued to have a contradictory character that reflected both the achievements of the Soviet system and its structural limitations.

Keywords: rural healthcare, history of medicine, Kalmyk ASSR, medical care, transhumant livestock farming, feldsher-midwife stations, Soviet social policy, rural population

Acknowledgements.The research was carried out within the framework of a state subsidy – the project «South-Eastern Belt of Russia: Study of the Political and Cultural History of Social Communities and Groups» (state registration number 122022700134-6).

Yan Zun (Moscow). The Role of the USSR and China in the Cambodian Crisis of 1975–1979

YAN ZUN

Second-year Phd student, Department of Social Movements and Political Parties MSU,

Moscow State University,

119991, Leninskie Gory, Bldg. 1, Moscow

e-mail: yz563771319@gmail.com

Abstract. The rise to power of the Khmer Rouge (1975–1979) coincided with the culmination of the Sino-Soviet confrontation, when the de facto collapse of the Sino-Soviet alliance transformed Southeast Asia into a new theater of confrontation between the two socialist superpowers. This study has significant scholarly relevance. It not only reveals historical continuities in relations between China and Russia, offering a historical framework for understanding their contemporary policies in Southeast Asia. Using the example of the “Cambodian crisis,” the work vividly demonstrates how external forces are transforming the regional landscape, thereby offering a key to interpreting the current geopolitical situation in Southeast Asia. The main goal of the article is to identify the internal logic and mechanisms of great power rivalry during the Cold War, using the complex interactions between China, the USSR, and Democratic Kampuchea as an example. The author shows how Cambodia, having become a strategic foothold, became an arena for the struggle for influence between Beijing and Moscow, and how the Kampuchean government maneuvered in these circumstances. This case serves as a representative model for analyzing the strategies of great power competition in Third World countries. To achieve this goal, this article analyzes the combined influence of the two major powers on the situation in Cambodia. The analysis will be based on an examination of bilateral interactions along the China-Cambodia and Soviet Union-Cambodia axes.

Кeywords: Khmer Rouge, Foreign Policy of China, Foreign Policy of the Soviet Union, Pol Pot

Medushevsky N.A. (Moscow). Ludwig Adzaklo as a Representative of the African Intelligentsia at the End of the 19th – Beginning of the 20th Centuries: A Biographical Analysis (Part 2)

NIKOLAY ANDREEVICH MEDUSHEVSKY

Doctor of Political Science, Professor

Russian State Humanitarian University

125047, Moscow, Miusskaya sq., 6.

Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia

117198, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya st., 6.

e-mail: Lucky5659@yandex.ru

Abstract. The article presents the second part of a study on the biography of the prominent African public figure of the early 20th century – Ludwig Adzaklo. In the first part of the study, we focused on the early period of his life related to education within the system of the Bremen Mission institutes in German Togoland, as a result of which Adzaklo obtained the profession of a teacher and was invited to collaborate with the missionary Jakob Spit as an assistant translator (Sprachgehilfe). The second part of the study concentrates on Adzaklo’s work period in Germany from 1904 to 1908, as well as his subsequent activities after returning to German Togoland until the end of his career in 1917. The period under study reveals the specifics of the Bremen Mission’s activities “from the inside,” from the perspective of a person involved in translation, journalism, agitation, educational, religious, and enlightenment work. The study’s additional value lies in its reliance on a corpus of archival materials almost unknown to the Russian reader. Furthermore, the “illustrative” function of our biographical research must be noted, creating the image of one of the first Africans to receive a Western education and become its promoter among his people. At the same time, the study also demonstrates Ludwig Adzaklo’s personal drama related to the end of his brilliant career after the change of colonial power in Togo.

Keywords: Ludwig Adzaklo, Jacob Spieth, German Togoland, Bremen mission, Ewe, protestant mission, African intellectuals

Kulikov S.V. (St. Petersburg). In Memory of Vladimir Nikolaevich Ginev…

SERGEY VIKTOROVICH KULIKOV

Candidate of Historical Sciences,

Senior Researcher at the Department of Modern History of Russia,

Saint Petersburg Institute of History,

Russian Academy of Sciences,

190005, Petrozavodskaya St., 7, St. Petersburg

e-mail: sergeykulikov70@mail.ru

Abstract. The article is dedicated to the memory of Vladimir Nikolaevich Ginev, a representative of the generation of historians who created the glory of the Leningrad Branch of the Institute of History of the USSR of the USSR Academy of Sciences (now the St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) as one of the main scientific centers for the study of Russian history. Ginev gained fame as a major specialist in the history of the revolutionary and social movement of the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially Narodnik movement and Neo-narodnik movement, local self–government, primarily volost, as an archaeographer and publisher of valuable historical sources. In 1980-1989, he supervised the publication of the library’s 12-volume series of revolutionary memoirs, from the Decembrists to the Bolsheviks, “A Spark will Ignite a Flame” and personally prepared two volumes for publication – on the narodniks of the 1870s and the late 1870s – early 1880s. Special attention to V.N. Ginev also devoted his time to publishing the legacy of S.N. Valk, and he also devoted separate articles to his teacher. A modest innovator, this is how to describe in a nutshell the scientific image of V.N. Ginev, who was distinguished by professional integrity and human decency, amounting to touching pedantry. This is how he will remain in the memory of all those who knew him.…

Keywords: evolutionary and social movement, narodnik movement, neo-narodnik movement, volost zemstvo, archeography

Shults E.E. (Moscow). “Barbarossa Plan”: Wehrmacht Strategic Failure or Hitler’s Voluntarism?

Eduard Eduard Shults

Head of the Department of Communication technologies, PhD in History, associate professor

Moscow State Linguistic University,

Ostozhenka, 38/1, Moscow, Russia, 119034

Associate professor, Department of Russian history, Federal State University of Education

Radio str., 10A, Moscow, 105005, Russia

e-mail: nuap1@yandex.ru

Abstract. The article is devoted to the analysis of the “Barbarossa plan” and the Wehrmacht blitzkrieg against the USSR. The article examines the history of the plan, its strategic plans and implementation. The Barbarossa plan initially set as its goals the destruction of the army and industry of the USSR in the European part, which was not implemented. Barbarossa’s plan fully satisfied the leadership of the Wehrmacht and the Reich, since any other plan led to a protracted war in which Germany had no chance. However, this plan was initially impracticable even if its implementation had begun earlier. Strengthening the advance in the southern and northern directions and the fulfillment of the tasks of destroying the enemy armed forces in August-September 1941 could be carried out only with a significant increase in the quantitative and technical groups of the armies “North” and “South”. There was nowhere to take these resources, given the resistance of the Red Army, the human losses of the Wehrmacht, except for the withdrawal from Army Group Center. German commanders are cunning in their memoirs in search of the reasons for the defeat near Moscow in Hitler’s order of August 21, 1941, which “unjustifiably diverted the forces of the Wehrmacht from Moscow”. The key problem of the “Barbarossa plan” was the underestimation of the mobilization capabilities of the USSR, both in terms of mobilization in the armed forces and mobilization of the economy. The leadership of the USSR was counting on a protracted war, and was able to bring down the offensive impulse of the Wehrmacht, transferring the war into a war of resources and opportunities, in which Germany had no chance.

Keywords: Great Patriotic War, blitzkrieg, memory wars, World War II

Varakin M.M. (Moscow). “To preserve Russian culture”: the sociocultural and intellectual mission of the newspaper “Rul” in Germany in the 1920s

VARAKIN MAKSIM MIHAILOVICH

2nd year master’s degree student,

Department of Russian History of the

Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries,

Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Russian Federation, 119234, Moscow,

Lomonosovsky Prospekt, 27-4.

E-mail: varakin_03@mail.ru

Abstract. This study is devoted to the analysis of the formation and cultural and intellectual life of the first wave of Russian emigration in Weimar Germany, with a focus on Berlin as a key center of the diaspora in the 1919–1920s. Based on a historical and sociological approach, the article traces the dynamics of the emigrant community caused by economic crises and migration trends and explores its internal structure. The central object of the study is the phenomenon of the emigrant press, in particular, the influential newspaper “Rul”, considered as the “ark of Russian culture”. The paper analyzes in detail the editorial policy of the publication, its role in preserving literary heritage, generating public controversy and consolidating diasporic identity through the creation of a unified information and cultural space. It is proved that “Rul” not only reflected, but also actively shaped the intellectual landscape of Russia Abroad, acting as a platform for dialogue between emigrant and Soviet cultural forces, as well as a channel for the integration of emigrants into the European context.

Key words: Russian emigration, Weimar Germany, Russian Berlin, emigrant press, newspaper “Rul”, sociocultural mission, V.D. Nabokov, I.V. Gessen.

Mitina V.K. (Moscow). The History of Russian–North African Food Security Relations and the Ukrainian Crisis Effect

VARVARA KIRILLOVNA MITINA

Junior Researcher, Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

123001, Russia, Moscow,

30/1, Spiridonovka str.

E-mail: mitvarya19@gmail.com

ORCID: 0000-0002-5933-6452

Abstract. This article provides a historical and economic analysis of the evolution of food-related cooperation between Russia and North African countries, with a special focus on the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on the region’s food security. By tracing the continuity from the grain exports of the Russian Empire in the 19th century, through the technical cooperation of the Soviet era, to the commercial expansion of the Russian Federation in the 21st century, the author identifies the formation of a persistent structural dependence of the region on external supplies. Drawing on a wide range of historical, statistical, and economic data, the study demonstrates that the Ukrainian crisis did not create but rather exposed the deep-seated, historically determined vulnerabilities of North Africa’s agricultural sector. Particular attention is paid to how the crisis resulted not in a weakening, but in a reshaping and strengthening of Russia’s role as a key grain supplier, which aligns with a long-term historical trend. The article contributes to the study of the history of Russia’s economic relations with the countries of the “Global South” and shows how historical patterns of dependence continue to shape contemporary geopolitical and economic dynamics.

Keywords: Russia, North Africa, food security, exports, grain market, Ukrainian crisis, historical dependence, economic relations

Pokrovskaya V.A. (Moscow). The role of the hostess of Moscow literary salons in cultural initiatives and private philanthropy during the second quarter of the nineteenth century

VIKTORIA ALEKSEEVNA POKROVSKAYA

postgraduate student,

Department of Russian History of the

Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries,

Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Russian Federation, 119234, Moscow,

Lomonosovsky Prospekt, 27-4.

E-mail: vikapokr@yandex.ru

Abstract. This study investigates the pivotal role played by the hostesses of Moscow literary salons in cultural and educational initiatives, as well as in private philanthropy, during the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Drawing upon archival materials, this research explores the lives and social engagements of prominent salon hostesses such as A.P. Elagina, E.A. Sverbeeva, and E.M. Khomiakova. These hostesses acted as facilitators and organizers of intellectual hubs that provided a platform for diverse segments of the intelligentsia – including nobility and commoners, literary figures, and academics – to engage in discourse and cultural exchange. The salon environment offered visitors not only the patronage of influential figures but also fellowship among like-minded individuals, with the hostess occupying a central position of authority and respect. Consequently, a unique community emerged within these salons, wherein female-driven initiatives received vital material and social support. Leveraging networks of close associates, the hostesses advanced the publication of educational periodicals, the establishment of named scholarships for students, and the provision of pensions to families affected by the loss of primary earners among scholars and writers. Furthermore, these salonnières perpetuated the tradition of female philanthropy characteristic of Russian society by contributing funds toward the restoration of religious edifices and cultural monuments, as well as the founding of schools and hospitals domestically and abroad.

Keywords: literary salon, cultural initiatives, private philanthropy, patronage, philanthropy, Russian cultural history, Emperor Nikolay era.

Selivanova O.S. (Moscow). Holiday culture of the Russian emigration in Paris 1920–1930s according to the magazine “Illustrated Russia”

SELIVANOVA OLGA SERGEEVNA

postgraduate student,

Department of Russian History of the

Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries,

Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Russian Federation, 119234, Moscow,

Lomonosovsky Prospekt, 27-4.

E-mail: selivanolya@bk.ru

Abstract. Based on materials from the weekly magazine “Illustrirovannaya Rossiya” (Illustrated Russia), the study reconstructs the phenomenon of the holiday as a key everyday practice of the Russian emigration community in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s, and as an instrument for preserving national and cultural identity. The source base comprises materials from this Paris-published magazine – reports, essays, advertisements, photographs, and illustrations that reflect the festival traditions of the Russian émigrés. The analysis encompasses both calendar-based religious holidays (Christmas, Easter) and secular anniversaries (Days of Russian Culture, balls), examining their semantics, their transformation in the context of exile, and their role in maintaining a connection with the lost homeland. The scientific novelty of the study lies in its comprehensive approach, which combines the analysis of visual and verbal sources to reveal the symbolic significance of holidays in everyday life of the Russian emigration. The study concluded that festival rituals were an essential tool for consolidating the diaspora and symbolically overcoming the rupture with the pre-revolutionary past.

Keywords: “Illustrated Russia”, everyday life, Russian emigration, holidays, festival dates, national identity, traditions.