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The first part of this evolutionary study of the persistence of the autocratic/oligarchic variety of personal rule in Russia provides a historical overview, followed by two theories explaining why it persisted, interrupted by brief 'times of troubles,' for over 500 years. Edward Keenan, on the one hand, hypothesizes successful long-term adaptation to a demanding environment. Richard Hellie, on the other hand, develops a theory of service-class revolutions and a cyclical pattern based on the methods of Russian elites for overcoming relative backwardness. Neither theory takes a neo-Darwinian approach. The second part examines neo-Darwinian evolutionary approaches. In the cosmic perspective of Big History, the human species in its relatively brief existence has had an accelerating impact on other species and the earth's environment. Biologists modeling complex systems come to a similar conclusion. Agent-driven history, as modeled by demographer Noël Bonneuil, raises questions about the adequacy of the historian's traditional single-trajectory narrative approach to 'the time of human history' and also critiques the biases built into the mathematical models of many evolutionary thinkers. An evolutionary approach to human history does not restrict itself to organic replication, but takes into account populations of evolving human skills and also group projects that act as evolutionary forces as well as units of selection, and outlive generations of organic populations. The third part applies this approach to the Russian tradition of state power by showing how group projects operate as evolutionary forces in a variety of modern power systems. The 'parable of the tribes' avers that the aggressive agent in any given power system-ideological, economic, social, military, or political-dictates the dynamics of the system. The 'braided stream' approach shows, however sketchily here, how agent-driven modern power systems interact, coevolve, and produce hybrid forms. The Russian tradition is highlighted in this evolutionary context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This vesiculosus Biozone assemblage of chemically-isolated graptolites from the Orenburg District of Russia was obtained from limestones associated with pillow lavas of the Sakmara Formation of Silurian–Early Devonian age. It comprises 30 species, of which 24 are described. Nine are new, one is a new subspecies, and eight are left under open nomenclature. The assemblage is unique in its diversity of minute biserial graptolites referable to the genera ‘ Glyptograptus’, Normalograptus, Sudburigraptus, and Metaclimacograptus; and is unusual in that well-preserved graptolite faunas are rare at this stratigraphical level, which is fixed by the occurrence of Cystograptus vesiculosus (Nicholson) s.l. and Paraclimacograptus innotatus (Nicholson). The following new forms are described: ‘ Glyptograptus’ tamariscus praecursor subsp. nov., G. mazovoensis sp. nov., G. nikitini sp. nov., G. pavlinovi sp. nov., G. telarius sp. nov., G. zimai sp. nov., Normalograptus legrandi sp. nov., N. melchini sp. nov., N. sobolevskayae sp. nov., and Metaclimacograptus bjerreskovae sp. nov. Five evolutionary lineages are defined within the ‘ Glyptograptus’ tamariscus (Nicholson) plexus, modifying and extending the pioneer work of Packham (1962). The diverse ‘ Glyptograptus’ faunas are considered to be a replacement for the Normalograptus fauna which peaked in the late Ordovician and early Silurian. Metaclimacograptus, although reasonably diverse in its speciation, exhibits a conservative style of evolution with little fundamental change throughout the Llandovery. It is suggested that cortical bandages have species-specific dimensions and micro-features. Some problematical micro- and ultrastructural features are described, notably fibrillar textures, parallel to the fusellar margins, in several species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]