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This article explores the history of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which spans over 120 years and has significantly influenced the development of Northeast China. The focus of this study is on materials from Soviet press outlets in the 1920s that address Soviet-Chinese relations surrounding the railway. It is noted that following the October Revolution of 1917, the railway became a central point of interaction between Russia and China. The Soviet leadership aimed to establish friendly and equal relations with China while simultaneously seeking to bring the railway’s exclusion zone under Bolshevik control. The objective of this article is to trace how events related to the Chinese Eastern Railway were reported during the transitional period of the 1920s by one of the most authoritative domestic publications — ‘Izvestia’, which has been published since March 1917 and became the official organ of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR after the October Revolution. Through analysis, the article reveals the significant role of ‘Izvestia’ in shaping public perceptions of Soviet-Chinese relations during this period and in conveying Soviet Russia’s Far Eastern policy as a whole.

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the modernization processes in the crop production sector of the Ulyanovsk region during the Eighth Five-Year Plan. The research draws on unpublished documents sourced from the State Archive of the Ulyanovsk Region and the State Archive of Contemporary History of the Ulyanovsk Region, a significant portion of which is introduced into scholarly discourse for the first time, alongside statistical materials and periodicals. The study examines the efforts of party organs and farm leadership aimed at intensifying the development of crop production. It addresses the authorities’ personnel policies regarding the expansion of vocational and technical education institutions, the organization of training courses for specialists in mass professions, and the enhancement of their qualifications to meet agricultural needs. The dynamics of crop production development from 1966 to 1970 are analyzed, evaluating the achievements of regional farms in producing key agricultural products. The author concludes that, despite facing problematic farms and a slight reduction in areas allocated for grain crops, the authorities in the Ulyanovsk region managed not only to meet but also to exceed the planned targets for yield, total harvest, and state procurement volumes of primary crop products during this period.

The article examines the most acute problems and their solutions in the relations between the diplomats of the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR in Poland during the establishment of the Soviet Union (1921-1923). The relevance of the study is due to the introduction of recently declassified archival documents into the scientific discourse, as well as the growing interest in the topic in connection with the centennial of the creation of the USSR. The purpose of the study is to reveal the previously silenced facts and problems that accompanied the work of the foreign policy departments of the Soviet republics up to the rigid centralization and regulation of their activities, which occurred in the second half of 1923. So far, the issues of interaction between the diplomatic departments of the Soviet republics have remained virtually unexplored in the Russian historiography. At the same time, researchers in other post-Soviet countries are undoubtedly interested in the subject, which is limited by the materials of mainly local archives. The work is based on the methods of comparative historical analysis. The source base is based on the previously classified documents of the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, in particular, the correspondence of the RSFSR plenipotentiary representation with the central office of the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR in Moscow. As a result of the study, the author came to the conclusion that in 1921-1923 there were constant misunderstandings and conflict situations in the relations between the diplomatic missions of the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR operating in Warsaw. The higher officials in Moscow and Kharkov had to be constantly involved in their resolution. At the same time, it was not always possible to resolve disagreements and conflicts that arose promptly due to the lack of ready solutions in the specialized departments of the two republics. Many disagreements in the actions of Russian and Ukrainian diplomats reflected the numerous intra-party disputes over various issues of subordination and state structure that developed among the Bolsheviks who had won in Russia and Ukraine. The contradictions that arose, especially in the first stage of the establishment of diplomatic missions, were tried to be deepened and used for their own purposes by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The article examines the multifaceted functionality of pioneer camps organized on the territory of Central Kazakhstan. An important component of the Soviet state's social policy was the development of cultural and leisure activities for children. Pioneer organizations were an important tool for the implementation of this function, designed to educate children in responsibility to society, to help the school prepare pioneers for the conscious and creative fulfillment of their duties. Thus, there was a synthesis of the activities of the school and the pioneer organization, in which the former acted as the implementer of the educational component, and the pioneer organization-the educational one. As a result of such complementarity, a comprehensively developed generation of Soviet children was formed, capable in the future of fully conforming to the propagandized image of "homo soveticus" ("Soviet man"), capable in the future of becoming the foundation of socialism under construction. The focus of the pioneer organization was the task of developing a socialist attitude to study, work and social work, which meant the incorporation of values such as indifference, collectivism, an active or active attitude to life. It was the pioneer movement that became the fundamental catalyst for the formation of pioneer camps, which were a place of ideological and political education of the younger generation throughout the territory of the Soviet Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Introduction. The relevance of the problem considered in the article is due to the possibility to use the experience of the organization of the Soviet state and interethnic relations in the Soviet period in order to improve national policy in modern Russia. The novelty of the research is connected with the study of the problem that has not received proper coverage in the historical literature. The purpose of the study is to analyze the features of the theory and practice of the national policy of the Bolshevik Party in the 1920s. Materials and Methods. The study of the problem of the national policy of the Bolshevik Party was carried out on the basis of the principles of objectivity, historicism and a systematic approach. Historical-genetic and historical-comparative methods were used in the preparation of the study. Analysis. According to the theory of Marxism, it was assumed that as capitalism developed, the consolidation of production would lead to the process of unification of nations. During the transition to socialism, these processes would acquire an irreversible character thanks to the destruction of human exploitation by man and the division of people according to class and national characteristics. It was believed that developed Western countries were ready for these transformations, in which the prerequisites for the transition from capitalism to socialism had already matured. However, due to historical circumstances, the socialist revolution took place in such a medium-developed country as Russia. In an effort to strengthen the position of the young Soviet state, a number of transformations were carried out by the Bolsheviks, including the exercise of the right of nations to self-determination. At the same time, during the formation of the USSR, the supremacy of the central party organs in the management of the Union state was ensured. During the implementation of Stalin’s concept of building socialism in a single country, the idea of a historical leap of backward peoples from feudalism to socialism was realized, bypassing the stage of capitalist formation. Results. The study has determined that the main feature of the national policy of the Bolshevik

In the 21st century, the Russian Federation and the Republic of India have great scientific and educational potential. The particularly privileged strategic partnership between the two states is aimed, among other things, at the development and innovations of scientific and educational cooperation, which has stable traditions laid down in the second half of the last century. It was during this period that the first connections were established between students and youth of the two countries. The VI World Festival of Youth and Students, held in Moscow in 1957, was the starting point for building youth cooperation, the activities of the International Youth Tourism Bureau “Sputnik,” and the first tourist trips of Soviet students to India. The relevance of the article is determined by the appeal of the interuniversity team of authors of the RUDN University, MGIMO University and Lipetsk State Pedagogical P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky University to the topic that had not previously been the subject of comprehensive research either in Russia or in India. The purpose of this study is to analyze the goals, forms of organization and significance of the Soviet-Indian youth and student partnership in the late 1950s - early 1960s on the basis of materials from the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History that were not involved in scientific circulation. The authors use a constructivist approach demonstrating the connection between society and politics and revealing the impact of international cooperation on the institutionalization, development of scientific and educational partnership between the USSR and India at the interstate and interinstitutional levels. The Khrushchev “thaw” period laid the foundations for Soviet-Indian cooperation between the two states in the field of higher education, youth and student academic exchange and tourism. In the 21st century, the experience of the world festivals of youth and students, the work of the “Sputnik” bureau is relevant, since the Republic of India is one of the important and priority partners for the Russian Federation. Students of Modern Russia also face the task of establishing and developing academic and cultural ties with India, increasing the prestige of the country in the eyes of Indians and the whole world.

This analytical review focuses on the work of Tuvinian researchers on the causes and consequences of political purges in Tuva during the existence of the Republic as a formally sovereign state. The authors of the book consistently reconstruct the main cycle of socio-political events in the region, figuring out how the experience and practices of revolutionary Russia passed on to Tuvinian soil. The ways and peculiarities of promotion of new leading cadres in the Republic and development of inter-clan struggle for power, formation of unusual party-state system, which allowed its leaders to widely use punitive measures against their opponents are considered. The reviewed work vividly presents historical portraits of major leaders of Tuva, demonstrates methods and ways of their promotion to political avantgarde, as well as the tragic end of careers of many of them. The published book is evaluated as a major contribution to the historiography of Tuva, thanks to new facts and interpretations of socio-political events in Central Asia in the first half of the 20th century.

The North Korean development model holds distinct similarities to the Soviet model. The Soviet Union’s experience and example played a key role in the initial nation-building in North Korea. However, as this study aims to argue, in the certain areas such as the economy, the transfer of the Soviet model to the Korean soil was often done against the direct Soviet advice. This study based on analysis of primary sources including declassified archival materials traces the entrenchment in North Korea in the 1940s-1950s of the key elements of the “classic” Soviet economic model such as directive centralized economic planning, nationalization, industrialization and prioritized heavy industry development and collectivized agriculture. Such research contributes to the better understanding of the economic and political processes in North Korea in the first post-liberation decades, of its economic system and relations with key political and economic allies in the Cold War.

In the twentieth century, the Soviet Union went through a complex process of revolution, rise, crisis, reform and disintegration, which is strongly influenced by its national policy. Despite successful governance experience of the USSR, national problems, in particular ethnic contradictions, accompany the entire history of the Soviet Union and have become one of the most important factors in its collapse, which demonstrates serious shortcomings in the national policy of the USSR. All this means that rethinking the national policy of the Union state in order to learn lessons is of urgent importance both for modern Russia and for other multinational states.

The Carter administration came to power at a crucial period when the relations between the East and the West were shifting from relaxation to re-confrontation. Its policy towards Afghanistan was not only restricted by the situation of U.S.-Soviet Union relations but also exerted a direct influence on the maintenance and transformation of this situation, notably the opening of the “New Cold War” between the East and the West. With the evolution of the Carter administration’s policy towards Afghanistan as the main clue, this paper aims to study the formation background, causes of change and development logic of different US policies towards Afghanistan in this period so as to reveal the internal relationship between the change of the U.S. policy towards Afghanistan and the evolution of the Cold War situation, as well as the essence of the U.S. policy.

Based on published and unpublished archival sources of Yugoslav and Soviet origin, as well as relevant memoirs and historiography, the article examines the course of negotiations between the Yugoslav and Soviet diplomatic representatives in 1918-1924 on mutual recognition and establishment of regular diplomatic relations. The circumstances under which the negotiations began, the reasons that prompted both sides to them, the influence of the interested powers and the Yugoslav Little Entente allies are analyzed. The diplomatic steps taken by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes immediately after the end of the First World War and aimed at normalizing relations with the largest and most important Slavic country coincided with the efforts of the revolutionary authorities of Russia to break out of isolation and take their place in the international community. Although mutual interests dictated the rapid and effective normalization, a number of factors caused the failure of negotiations. There were fears in Yugoslavia that mutual recognition would lead to a strengthening of the role of Communists in society and that Bolshevik propaganda would undermine the foundations of the existing state system. In addition, the tacit and often direct support of various separatist political groups in Yugoslavia by the Bolsheviks was particularly suspicious. Despite a number of significant political factors and support for rapprochement with the Soviets of a significant part of society, the most influential figures of the Radical Party led by Nikola Pashich, as well as King Alexander Karageorgievich, reacted negatively to this idea.

After World War II, the socialist camp opposed capitalism, and socialist realism became the official art school and style of socialist countries in the Soviet Union. This article analyzes how the realistic music style of the 19th century Soviet Union was inherited and developed in the 20th century, thus forming a music style that can be called “socialist realism”. This style had a profound impact on the development of Chinese piano music in the 20th century, including the creation of the Yellow River Piano Concerto by six Chinese composers, including Yin Chengzong, which is one of the typical music works of socialist realism style and the product of a specific historical period. It uses a revolutionary musical language, filled with inner passion and motivation. The paper applies the historical-structural approach, as well as the method of analysis of musical works and structural analysis of musicological literature published in Chinese and Russian on the subject of research. This article aims to reveal the significant impact of Russian and Soviet music styles on the development of Chinese piano art. The author concludes that due to the “socialist realism” style, the Yellow River piano works have a strong appeal and revolutionary nature, inspiring people to participate in national struggles and becoming a model of piano music at that time.

This article examines the perception of countries of the Eastern bloc and Soviet republics other than the Russian Soviet Republic in Indian travelogues of the Cold War era written in the Bengali language. Although most Indian travellers who came to the European countries of the Eastern bloc and the USSR at that period only visited the main cities of the Russian Soviet Republic, some ventured into lesser known territories, e.g. Estonia, Poland, or Ukraine, and in their travel accounts included one or two chapters on those regions. The distinctive feature of their travelogues is the strong focus on various aspects of social and economic life, from the education system, through workers’ rights, to public housing, and on the progress Eastern bloc countries made since coming under Soviet influence. The article argues that Indian travellers created the image of Eastern bloc countries and Soviet republics other than the Russian Soviet Republic as a periphery of Soviet Russia by constantly comparing the two, presenting Russia as the heart of the Soviet world and focusing on problems other parts of the USSR and the Eastern bloc still faced despite of what they perceived as Moscow’s assistance.

The information about the International Scientific Conference “The Phenomenon of the Multinational Soviet Union: History, heritage and social memory” held on October 14–15, 2022 is presented. The participants discussed a wide range of theoretical and methodological, historical, economic, philosophical, legal, cultural, linguistic problems of education, formation, disintegration of a single state and its consequences. The presented reports reflectthe unique historical experience of the formation and functioning of the Soviet Union as a state-civilization, which requires further reflection and study.

This article examines approaches towards analyzing the “entanglement” of modern societies in sociological and historical literature. Differences between G. Therborn’s and J. Arnason’s approaches are highlighted and Arnason’s perspective on “alternative” communist modernity is discussed. The interaction of the USSR and China represents an example of entanglement of alternative modernities. As Arnason demonstrates, in the 1920’s the Soviet model of state-building was seen by various political forces in China as a case of successful imperial restoration. In addition, he highlights the role of ties to China in Soviet politics. Chinese communists adapted Soviet patterns of totalitarian control before even coming to power. After 1949 there was a further adaptation and radicalization of the Soviet model in China. At the same time the rivalry between the USSR and China was largely a product of their imperial legacies. According to Arnason, in post-Maoist China a combination of patterns of capitalist development, elements of Marxist-Leninist political practices and ideology, as well as a selective revival of Confucian legacies all went beyond the Soviet model. Arnason characterizes how Chinese leadership was influenced by the example of economic development of other East Asian countries and examines the rivalry between the USA and China in the global geopolitical context.

Academic literature is largely skeptical regarding the role of military deterrence in addressing low-level coercion. The stability-instability paradox suggests that increasing destructiveness of the armed forces (especially with the emergence of nuclear weapons) diminishes their utility in response to limited wars, proxy conflicts or economic sanctions. Recent debates often extend the same logic to foreign interference in internal affairs, as they position it as a supplement for forcible rivalries. This article seeks to advance understanding of the linkage between military deterrence and foreign interference in internal politics by exploring the record of the early Cold War starting from 1948 to the mid-1950s. The analysis attests that concern over the Soviet military capabilities had a major restraining effect on Washington. As a result, the US pursued more cautious activities against the Soviet Union in comparison to the campaigns targeting less capable states. This historical record reveals that interference is more amenable to military deterrence than other types of low-level coercion. It differs from them, as covert operations produce an existential danger to the political leaders of a target state, inciting overreaction on their behalf. Therefore, they create escalation risks when threatening a great power. Interference exacerbates confrontation even between adversaries that perceived each other as malign beforehand. Apart from signaling hostile intentions, it aggravates a sense of urgency on finding a response. Although military capabilities do not provide a direct solution to political threats, they serve as a repellent against potential subversive activities. These conclusions do not depend on the specific type of interference pursued by external agents. The findings of the article demonstrate that cross-domain deterrence is more prevalent than stability-instability paradox envisages.

This paper analyzes the diplomatic relations between Hungary, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union during the Soviet intervention in Hungary in 1956, with a primary focus on the case of Imre Nagy’s capture. The crisis that arose during Nagy’s hiding in the Yugoslav embassy reveals the background of these countries’ relations, in which Yugoslavs showed ambiguousness to maintain the achieved status of a free socialist country on the one hand, and on the other, to keep good relations with the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the author attempts to provide answers on Yugoslav role in Nagy’s arrest after he left his hideout within the Yugoslav embassy. The author argues that Yugoslavs were not aware of any Soviet plans to capture Nagy after he left the embassy, even though there are other claims present in this paper that suggests the opposite.

After the World War I, Poland was restored and within European countries belonged to medium-sized states in terms of its area, but also human and economic potential. Although at the beginning of the 1920s, the Second Polish Republic was able to gain large areas of Western Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania from Russia and also acquired part of the disputed territories with Germany, its geopolitical position was very vulnerable. Initially defeated or the bypassed superpowers of Germany and the Soviet Union gradually gained in importance and military power in European politics, until in the second half of the 1930s they became dominant in dealing with the foreign political affairs of Central and Eastern Europe. Surrounded by these revisionist neighbours, Polish foreign policy tried to maintain a balance towards both and maneuvered from neutrality to friendship with these great powers (mainly towards Berlin). At the same time, it tried to act as a regional power, with the ambition of concentrating smaller friendly states on itself, but without success. On the contrary, by the gradual loosening of the alliance with France or even the hostile policy towards Czechoslovakia in the fall of 1938, Poland became largely isolated. Finally, in 1939, it was no longer able to prevent the agreement of Berlin and Moscow on its new division between the neighbouring powers.

Статья посвящена зарождению, развитию и современному состоянию художественной школы Луганщины в контексте советской эпохи. Рассматривая истоки и историко-культурные условия, повлиявшие на особенности искусства этого промышленного центра, автор прослеживает движение художественных процессов от соцреализма через авангард в его различных проявлениях в идеях, тематике и изобразительно-выразительных средствах к новому осмыслению реалистических традиций и изображению людей, проникнутых духом созидания и любовью к родному краю, готовых к подвигу в труде и на войне. Подчеркивается важная роль Луганской государственной академии культуры и искусства имени М. Матусовского и ее колледжа культуры и искусств в сохранении реалистической школы. В статье введен в научный оборот и сопровожден искусствоведческим комментарием ряд художественных произведений, созданных луганскими художниками в 2014–2021 годы.

History shows that each nation stood up not only for the land, but also for its culture and art, literature and language, which are the expression of its spirituality in the struggle to preserve their freedom. These national treasures are important elements that protect the nation's nationality and existence. In ancient times, usurper states either destroyed the riches or appropriated the national culture of the peoples they enslaved, as well as beautiful relics of art and science. Not satisfied with this, insulting their customs and traditions, beliefs, they tried to destroy their native language, arguing that their language was "rude" and that it could not express "deep thoughts and sensitive feelings." Even from the official state offices, they "expelled" the mother tongue, all work was done in the language of the ruling government. They tried to suppress such language in the family. However, history proves the second aspect, that every enslaved people, as mentioned above, opposed the destruction of their national identity and language, and made efforts to develop their native language. Thus, language was an unparalleled weapon in the struggle of nations for life and independence. It is also a fact that the Turkic-speaking peoples living in the former Soviet Union, after declaring their independence, occupy one of the most important places among the world's states. At this historical stage, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan conduct official negotiations in their national languages. This confirms that the sphere of influence of Turkish languages is gradually expanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The study aims to analyze the representation of the Soviet Union in two Arab novels, “Ice” (2011) by Egyptian Sun‘allah Ibrahim and “Time of the Red Reed Pipe” (2012) by Kuwaiti Thurayya al-Baqsami. Within the vast expanse of the Arab “emigrant” literature one can find relatively few works of fiction that have to do with the USSR despite the fact that in the 1960-1980s thousands of Arab students studied in the country. Among a couple dozen Arab writers who wrote some fiction about the USSR very few spent more than a couple of months in the country, and their works, as a rule, present idealized and rather superficial images of the Soviet Union. Unlike these authors, Sun‘allah Ibrahim and Thurayya al-Baqsami spent in the 1970s quite a long time in Moscow in the status of ordinary students, and for this reason their novels present a much more realistic picture of the Soviet Union. Without any noticeable warmth towards their Soviet hosts, the writers consider many negative features of Soviet social and economic life as commodity shortage, low quality of Soviet goods and services, illegal currency operations, etc. The two authors’ representations of the Soviet Union stand in contrast to the Soviet’s own idea of how the people from the developing countries perceived the “country of victorious socialism.”

In the economic practice of the Soviet Union, many decisions were developed that were perceived in many countries. The main experiment, the author considers the work with hundreds of thousands of top managers who do not have the property rights to their business. This article discusses methods of ensuring currency stability in the Soviet Union — sole proprietorship and personal responsibility, the formation of a personnel reserve and the so-called “nomenclature”. Such Soviet developments as Dynamo and Lipetsk methods, brigade contract and Saratov system, and today are used by different countries. On this basis, it is proposed to consider the Soviet Union as an objective pilot economic laboratory of the world.

The article analyzes the organization of the work of special medical institutions (special hospitals) for seriously ill and wounded prisoners of war in the Soviet Union in 1945–1950. Changes in their number, location and functioning in the post-war period are traced. The results of the work of special hospitals, the annual positive dynamics in the results of treatment of patients due to the improvement in the provision of medical personnel, treatment and diagnostic rooms, the supply of medicines and patient care items are shown. The conclusion is made about the great work done by the leadership of the USSR in the post-war years to save the lives of captured soldiers of the enemy armies.

The article examines the peculiarities of forming the vision of regional history, which was presented in the textbooks of the socio-humanitarian block of the 1920s-1930s. The historiography of the issue is analyzed. Examining the vision of regional history in Soviet textbooks, the author touched on the problem of the Soviet school system functioning in general and the history lesson in particular. The main textbooks of the specified period, which are representative of the presented issues were also analyzed, because they concern secondary general schools, that is, those children who were the basis of the school education system. The article reveals the spatial vision presented in the work of M. Yavorsky "A Brief History of Ukraine" – the main textbook of that period. Among the regions distinguished by the Soviet information policy were: Ukraine as part of the USSR; Naddniprianshchyna with the main city Kyiv, Galicia, Volyn and Zakarpattya (Transcarpathia). Also, the peculiarity of the vision of regional history, which was formed at the beginning of the next decade, is revealed. It consisted in shifting the vector from the west to the eastern spaces – Russian lands. Kyiv as a regional center receded into the background, giving way to St. Petersburg and Moscow. The specified vision deepened even more at the end of the 1930s. Textbooks of that period almost did not describe Ukrainian lands, dividing them into two artificial regions, "Eastern and Western" Ukraine. Instead, the regional vision spread to Central Asia, Kazakhstan and the Caucasus.

Background. Among the tasks set for agriculture is the development of new phosphorus fertilizers with increased bioenergetic efficiency, necessary for the development of cotton. Purpose: based on vegetation experiments, to compare the dynamics of cotton growth under the influence of traditional and new concentrated phosphate fertilizers, to identify the effectiveness of their use. Methodology. Agrotechnical studies were carried out according to the methodology of the Scientific Research Institute of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan in a comparative vegetative experiment. Originality. In view of the lack of knowledge of the object of study on neutral and slightly alkaline soils, a new approach to characterizing the effectiveness of fertilizers is proposed. Findings. Phenological observations indicate a positive effect of the test fertilizer on plant nutrition, the formation of vegetative and reproductive organs, in comparison with the control variant, on the quality and quantitative characteristics of the raw cotton crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern Russia it is widely believed that China has adopted all the best from the USSR: the ideas of the equality of citizens, the socialist structure of the state, the fi ght against corruption, cultural trends, trends in education. The Russian village prose has become part of the school curriculum of China, just as it has done in its homeland in Russia. Rustic prose is close in spirit to the bulk of the population of the Chinese provinces. The ideas and trends that concern the Russian people could not leave the citizens of China indiff erent. Russian literature has been infl uencing the national literature of China since 1917; using the example of the works of Russian literature, the people of China realized the need for change, writers understood the basics of creating new, modern literature. In the 90s, the place of the Russian village prose was so great that the Chinese population perceived it as their native literature. In China, the works of V. Astafyev, V. Rasputin, V. Shukshin are appreciated, the peculiarities of the writers’ styles are studied. The works written in the genre of rustic prose are of great importance for Chinese citizens, they fall out of the usual genre, preserve the historical memory of the people, show the tragedies of the times of collectivization, the hardships of wartime logistics, the restoration of the destroyed state, and others.Village life fascinates with its simplicity. Breaking away from his roots, destroying intra-family ties, being carried away by opposing tendencies and ideas, the hero of the works of Russian authors makes himself unhappy, but the understanding of the mistake comes to him late, alongside the remorse, or does not come at all.

In this study, the author analyzes the features of the emergence and development of student brigades (SB) in the southern regions and the RSFSR in comparison with the general trends in the development of the All-Union Student brigades. The relevance of the topic of the article is connected with the need for effective labor education of students, including in the modern youth organization «Russian Student brigades». To do this, it is necessary to take into account not only the economic and social characteristics of different regions of the country, but also the practice of previous years. The experience of the period of the 1960s -1970s can help to understand how to organize the work of students of higher educational institutions of our country most competently. In the article, the author shows that, despite the fact that the student brigades of the southern territories and regions of the RSFSR developed in the image and likeness of the All-Union Student brigades, they had a number of their own characteristics.The most important distinguishing feature of the student brigades of the regions under consideration was the predominance of student brigades of the non-construction brigades. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that it is the first attempt to conduct a comparative analysis of the development of student brigades in the southern territories of the RSFSR. The author identifies common features and distinctive features of trends in the development of the student movement of the studied regions in comparison with the general practices of the All-Union Student brigades. The author identifies common features and distinctive features of trends in the development of the student movement of the studied regions in comparison with the general practices of the All-Union Student brigades. And although these regions are the most studied in the historiography of the problem, within the framework of the study, 5 archival files were introduced into scientific circulation, which are stored in the Center for Documentation of the Modern History of the Krasnodar Territory and in the State Archive of the Modern History of the Stavropol Territory. The chronological framework of the study covers the period from 1965 to the end of the 1970s. The upper boundary is due to the formation of the first visiting student brigades on the territory of the regions under consideration. The lower limit is due to the end of the first decade of their work on the territory of the formation regions. This period makes it possible to fully analyze the trends in the development of student brigades.

Book review: Migranyan A. 2022. Does Russia have a future? Moscow: Aspect Press. 678 p.

The subject. The article analyzes the constitutional and legal aspects of the formation of the USSR in the context of the theory of federalism. In the course of this analysis, the author examines the constitutional norms regulating the status of sovereign republics as members of the federation.The purpose of the paper is to classify USSR as a type of federation according to its constitutional regulation during all its existence as a state, and to define legal causes of falling soviet federalism experience.The methodology of the study includes general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, description) and legal methods. In addition to this, historical method was also applicable.The main results and scope of their application. Taking into account various theoretical approaches to the classification of federations, the author comes to the conclusion that the USSR was formally created as a constitutional federation, since the issues of state sovereignty, the right to withdraw from the union and the competence of the new state were fully defined precisely in the Constitution of the USSR of 1924. At the same time, the functioning of public authority in the USSR on a contractual, consensual basis of central and regional authorities was absent.Conclusions. The Soviet Union came to the end of its existence almost in the status of a confederation, having in its composition sovereign states with independent legal systems, state sovereignties and established international relations for some of them.A lot of constitutional risks were laid in the previous periods of development of federal relations in the USSR and their consolidation at the constitutional level strengthened the centrifugal forces and brought eventually to be adopted on June 12, 1990 the Declaration on State Sovereignty of the RSFSR.

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Th us, the concept of Prometheism was formed in the tra ditions of the noble Commonwealth during the interwar period among the supporters of the political line of J. Piłsudski. Th e creators of Prometheism believed that with the formation of the USSR, the essence of Russian imperialism has not changed. Th ey hoped that national liberation movements would cause the inevitable collapse of the Soviet Union and strongly supported separatist centrifugal tendencies in its national republics. With its foreign policy vector, the concept of Prometheism was aimed at the dismemberment of the Soviet Union on national grounds and the creation on its basis of a federation of democratic states under the auspices of Poland. Anti-Russian, anti- Soviet, and anti-communist orientations also became components of Prometheus' ideology. In the interwar period, the Prometheus organization was at the forefront of Poland's eastern policy aimed at integrating the peoples of the Black Sea-Baltic region. Behind the scenes of the society were Polish special services, which secretly developed plans to use the national liberation movements of non-Russian peoples of the USSR. Th e goal of implementing the concept of Prometheism was to dismember the Soviet Union on a national basis and build a Greater Poland on its «ruins» based on a federation with Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Crimea, and other republics. A strategic mistake of Promethean theorists was to believe in the internal weakness of the USSR. Th e beginning of the World War II suspended the implementation of Poland's Prometheus plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Th e aim of the research is to elucidate the historiographical tradition of the Ostforschung" its conceptual evolution, and modern intellectual strategies, and to identify the features of germanspeaking historiography of the Holodomor. Th e research methodology consists of general and special scientifi c methods, and the basic ones are comparative-historical, interdisciplinary, and problem-thematic. Th e scientifi c novelty lies in the retrospective combination of the main stages of the Ostforschung research project; in the elucidation of the intellectual strategy of studying the Holodomor by German scientists. Conclusions. Until the mid-1980s, the Holodomor did not become a priority for German historiography. Its scientifi c passivity was due to several circumstances: the relative idealization of the USSR by the foun ders of Ostforschung, the unifi cation of Soviet history, the National Socialist ideologization of the Ostforschung scientifi c discourse, their separation of anti-Semitism and other forms of chauvinism, the awareness of some German politicians and scientists of the historical guilt of the Holocaust, its comparison with the mass extermination of European nations in the twentieth century, the presence of the historiographical paradigm of "Russian-centrism" in the coverage of Eastern European history. It is noted that German historiography covers the "Ukrainian Holodomor" in the context of the "All-Union Famine", Stalin's political rep ressions, criticism of Ukraine's historical memory policy, and revision of the main provisions of Ukrainian legislation recognizing the Holodomor genocide. Th e intellectual achievements of German scientists include dozens of articles and a thematic special issue of the Osteuropa journal (2004, 12), but there are no monographs, although there are noticeable scientifi c changes. In the historiography of the Holodomor, there are no ideologues of Ostforschung of the Cold War period, but there are signs of the "Russian-centrism" concept in the study of Eastern European history of the twentieth century. Over the past 20 years, German resear chers have written much more about the organized famine in Ukraine than in all previous years of the Ostforschung project. Academic development of the causes and consequences of the Holodomor is much more constructive than its evaluative and legal interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes modern trends in the civilizational transition and identifies its leaders. The role and importance of the middle class in Russia and in the West is determined, the author's understanding of their differences is given. The thesis is put forward describing the Russian possibilities for overcoming the complex crisis. The mechanism of accumulation of traditional socio-cultural values in the new post-industrial culture possesses such an opportunity. in the foreground is the intellectual resource that allows the transition to a fundamentally different type of economy based on knowledge. However, sustainable development today is driven not only by innovations that pave the way for the future, but also by traditions that maintain stability. The Russian cultural code and mentality are a successful algorithm for peoples living in critical areas for survival.

The archives of the Catholic News Agency (CNA) shed valuable light on the transition of American Catholics from antiwar isolationists to militant anticommunists. Until December 1941 most Catholics opposed American intervention in the European military conflict, but after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor they patriotically supported American troops and silently tolerated the alliance with the Soviet Union. But from the spring of 1943 American Catholics began to speak out openly against the communist ally. The news feeds from CNA shed light on this transformation: they underscore the role of religion (and especially the role of religious repression) in international relations, which to a significant degree explain the shift in Soviet religious policy during the war. The CNA archives also show how ineffective, or even counterproductive, was Moscow’s religious policy on the diplomatic front, above all with regard to Catholics. This article also offers a new perspective on the so-called “silence” of Pope Pius XII—his refusal to name specific countries as perpetrators of war crimes, his willingness to speak only in abstract terms. CNA in effect served as his surrogate: it expressed what the pope himself could not publicly say without violating his neutrality.

The publication is dedicated to staying Boris Yeltsin in Leningrad, March 22, 1991, and his meeting with the deputies of the Leningrad City Council XXI convocation. A transcript of Boris Yeltsin’s speech to the Leningrad parliamentarians in the Mariinsky Palace is being introduced into scientific circulation. The publication of the document was carried out according to the modern rules of archeography. The authors of most of the questions asked to Yeltsin have been identified, and reference information on their persons has been provided. The content of the meeting in the Leningrad City Council reflects the severity of the internal political crisis in the USSR on the eve of its collapse, when the rivalry between the main political leaders of the country: the President of the USSR M. S. Gorbachev and the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR B. N. Yeltsin became especially acute. The materials of the publication are of interest to specialists in the socio-political history of Russia at the end of the twentieth century.

Introduction. The article aims to analyze the newspaper ’Svobodnaya zemlya’ (Free Land), published for a short time (September-December 1942) by German occupying forces in Kalmykia. The newspaper has not been the object of a special study so far. Its main purpose was propaganda, used by the occupiers as one of the most important psychological and ideological weapons of war. The Nazi propaganda targeted the population of the occupied territories, subjecting the people to massive psychological and ideological pressures. Hence, every genre of the newspaper was designed and adapted to carry on disguised Nazi propaganda. Material and methods. The source for the research data was ’Svobodnaya zemlya’, the organ of the German administration at the time of Nazi occupation of the Kalmyk territory. Notably, the historiography in this country and abroaddiscusses certain aspects of fascist propaganda during the Second World War, but the regional newspapers of the German occupiershave not been examined so far. In his analysis, the author was guided by the principles of objectivity, comprehensive analysis, historicism, hermeneutics, and source criticism. Results. The purpose of the German occupiers’ newspaper was to persuade the local population that the preventive war launched and conducted by them was not a humanitarian catastrophe, but it was directed only against the “Jewish-Bolshevik government” of the Soviet Union, and the German army had a liberation mission, a happy future awaiting the liberated people. According to this propaganda, the liberated peoples were tostay calm and confident of their future; also, they were expected to actively cooperate, helping the German army tonear the victory, but any act of disobedience orjust passive resistance of individuals would havedire consequences for them, including death punishment. Conclusion. The newspaper under studyis one of the most important types of historical sources to shed light on the history of Kalmykia in the war period. Added to the source data, it helps fill in some gaps to allow for an objective discussion of controversial issues. Also, the analysis of the newspaper demonstrates some of the methods and techniques used by the Nazis in the occupied regions to deliberately disseminate falsified ideas about the goals of the war as a means of disguised propaganda.

The article researches the current topic of "post-Soviet Protestantism" and its positioning in acute socio-political issues, particularly in the issues of attitude to the Russian aggression against Ukraine. It is proved that the basis of the Russocentrism of post-Soviet Protestantism is Eurasianism as a doctrine of Russian fascism, which proclaims the ideas of the Russian-Asian community in opposition to all others, including the community of Slavs. In addition, it advocates neo-Stalinism and Putin's neo-colonialism. The author compares the two basic concepts of Eurasianism and the "Russian world" for modern Russian geopolitics and suggests that Eurasianism implies the substantial inclusion of numerous Protestant movements in the former Soviet territories into the political system of the Kremlin with its further "orthodoxization" in the Eurasian format. While Russian Orthodoxy prefers to subjugate the entire post-Soviet space to the neo-imperial project of the "Russian world," envisaging the unification of Slavism in the former Soviet geopolitical area, post-Soviet Protestantism is focused on keeping the post-Soviet space in the Eurasian political field. At the same time, by analysing the structure and internal politics of modern post-Soviet Protestantism, the author proves that despite all its (Protestantism's) heterogeneity, it has uniquely retained the general features of Soviet-style Baptism. Moreover, it is prone to establishing private institutions and subcultures based on rejection rather than positive self-identification. The results obtained in the course of the study give grounds to significantly adjust the existing ideas about post-Soviet Protestantism, to comprehend its political component in a panoramic and retrospective manner. Therefore, the study states that the officially advocated by post-Soviet Protestants (primarily Baptists and Adventists) idea of the so-called "Euro-Asian" missionary activity is in line with Putin's Eurasian ideology and, consequently, acts within the defined "canons" of Russia's neo-imperial policy.

The essay examines photojournalist Lisa Larsen's experiences in the Soviet Union in the period from spring through fall of 1956. It concentrates on her written and visual explorations of what it meant to be a woman in the USSR against the backdrop of her long standing interests in the roles of women in society worldwide during her work for Life magazine. As a woman rising through the ranks in a profession dominated by men in the United States, Larsen likely absorbed certain normative ideas about women's roles and bodies from her environment. Yet this essay aims to show that Larsen's visual and written storytelling goes far beyond the commonplaces of midcentury America. Especially when photographing Soviet women, Larsen aimed to capture the multifaceted nature of their identities and experiences. In so doing, she complicated and ultimately challenged Life magazine's own dominant narrative that focused on how Soviet women often failed to reflect the aspirations, tastes, and possibilities of America's white middle class. In order to fully appreciate Larsen's unique sensibility and narrative style, I suggest that it is helpful to understand her 1956 visit to the Soviet Union in the broader context of her biography. The essay also aims to highlight more of Lisa Larsen’s photography, much of which has never been published anywhere and remains unknown.

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The article contains a brief retrospective assessment of the reasons given by various scholars and observers for the breakdown of the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev’s leadership and it situates that crisis in the larger context of history and the imperial legacy of the Russian state. It particularly looks at the issue of nationality as an ethnic, cultural and linguistic concept vis-a-vis the universalistic notion of empire as a community of destiny among diverse people. The author compares the Soviet Union’s structure as a ‘non classical’ empire to those of other European states and especially to Germany’s which has also evolved from being a loose Central and East European ‘Reich’ inspired by the Roman and Carolingian heritage – to becoming a federal nation surrounded by smaller countries that share with it ancient civilisational and political legacy. Whereas Germany is gradually asserting leadership among many of its former dependencies and in the post-Brexit European Union as a whole, Russia is led by geographical and strategic compulsions to rebuild a Eurasian confederal association with erstwhile Soviet Republics and possessions of the Tsarist Empire, in conformity with its location between the ‘West’, the Islamosphere and the Chinese world. Will Russia be able to create a synthesis between the Slav Orthodox Oikoumene envisioned by Nikolay Danilevsky and the Eurasian syncretistic model promoted by Lev Gumilyov?

The aim of the article is to examine the process of constructing the images of Stalin and Mao Zedong in the material of Soviet central newspapers on the themes of the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) and Soviet-Chinese friendship. Our focus on the techniques of such constructions allow for dealing with a number of research issues, such as which conceptions of the political leaders were rendered to the Soviet audiences and in which way was this implemented; was there a potential for dynamics in treating the subjects and if this was the case what were the factors that played a role in such dynamics. Data and methods. For our database of primary sources we have chosen the ”Ogonyok” issues published in the period between October 1949 and March 1953. The authors of the present article were interested in references in the magazine texts but also in the images of Stalin and Mao. Hence, the research lens of historical imagology allowed us to examine the images under study as complex synthetical constructions, the constructions that were impacted by inner and outer factors in play in the Soviet society itself, including its political culture, the specific features of representations in the sphere of internationl relations, etc. The illustrative material was used for the sake of further verification and detailization. Results. The ”Ogonyok” material on the theme of Soviet-Chinese friendship included a considerable amount of texts and their visual supplements, with Stalin and Mao as their central personages. The thematical distribution of the database has shown that its main themes are Soviet-Chinese friendship described in hierarchical terms as the ”teacher-pupil” relationship, the achievements of socialist transformation in China, etc. Conclusions. The personification of the images of the leaders of the USSR and the PRC was designed to promote the positive attitudes towards the main Soviet ally, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to contribute to the legitimization of the USSR’s leading position not only in the Soviet-Chinese interaction, but in the whole of the Socialist world as well. Mao’s leading role in the transformations of the Chinese society confirmed to the Soviet audiences the correctness of the development model in the Soviet Union itself. Numerous presentations of the good will with which the Chinese side was ready to follow the ”Stalin recipe” in building socialism served as a marker that the ”great friendship” was under Moscow’s control.

The Soviet-German economic relations between the 1960s and 1970s are characterized by wide contacts at the private business and official state levels, when the economic policy of the West Germany was being carried out in close cooperation with the “private” initiatives of German entrepreneurs. This connection can be observed in the negotiations held in 1958, 1962 and 1966, as well as before the signing of the Treaty of Moscow in 1969-1970 after the “negotiation marathon” between West German entrepreneurs and Soviet negotiators. “The New Eastern Policy” became a significant instrument for building complex relations with the Soviet Union, although with very different approaches taken by representatives of West German conservative-liberal (CDU/CSU, FDP) and social-democratic (SPD) political camps. Nevertheless, at first this resulted in a gradual and then an accelerated economic integration of the Soviet Union into the world economy. The economic interests of the two countries called for a constructive dialogue. Finally, the emergence of bilateral positive economic dependence between them that rested on different socio-economic and ideological principles forced both sides to carefully handle the pipeline infrastructure.

Every year films of all kinds are produced, and the number of film directors is many all over the world. But among them there are individual geniuses who stand out from the crowd. The Soviet film director Andrei Tarkovsky is one of these geniuses. With his only seven feature length films, he wrote himself into the top history of the film world. The article attempted to analyse and discuss Andrei Tarkovsky’s sculpting in time, space, memory, and spirituality as well as how the director thought of himself as an artist who constantly struggled with the authoritarian powers of the state over art, and consequently how themes of artistic expression manifested in his work. The main question is whether the director’s films are his inner journey? Was Andrey Tarkovsky a dissident in the Soviet Union or not? What is the intellectual and cultural climate in which Tarkovsky operated? An understanding of the prevalence of religious rhetoric and non-conformist art in both Soviet and Russian history is required to comprehend how potentially radical the themes in Andrei Tarkovsky’s films were in the era of the Soviet Union.

The main subject matter of Johann Arnason’s book is multiple modernities. The author discusses various theoretical approaches towards modern societies and offers an original conceptualization of historical processes. He analyzes patterns of modernity in the fields of economy, politics and culture, as well as sequences of various modernity types. Particular attention is devoted to social transformations in the Eurasian region. Arnason carefully examines the formation and historical dynamics of the Soviet and Chinese versions of “alternative” communist modernity. Finally, he discusses global modernity and the need to reconsider its trajectory in light of communist experience.

The active development of cooperation between the friendly peoples of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China requires intensified training of specialists capable of ensuring intercultural communication between citizens of China, Russia and other Commonweath of Independent States members. In accordance with modern linguodidactics, the development of a foreign language should be linked with culture studies, which ensure the development of the linguistic and cultural competences. It is essential that Russian students fully understand cultural meanings of China’s state symbols. The paper proves the need to acquaint Russian students studying Chinese language and culture with the state symbols of the People’s Republic of China (flag, coat of arms and anthem) at the initial stage of training. It is important that Russian students fully understand the cultural meanings of the state symbols of modern China, the country that is proud of its history and looks boldly into the future. Didactic materials that can be used in the classroom on the topic “State Emblem of the People’s Republic of China”, as well as additional materials for educational or extracurricular activities are presented in the study. Comparable components of Chinese and Russian (Soviet) state symbols, their national and historical features are highlighted in the paper as confirmation of the prospects of using the comparative principle in the classroom with Russian students.

This paper proposes three measures for a new archaeological study on the Silk Road. First, a systematic understanding is required for the archaeological achievements on the Silk Road made during the Soviet Era before the 1990s. Nowadays, many scholars in East Asia, including South Korea, rely on literature written mainly in English to study and understand the Silk Road. However, the Silk Road’s archaeological excavations were mostly made before the 1990s, that is, they were not well known in South Korea and the West. Therefore, a systematic understanding of those achievements can be the basis of new international research. Bernshtam’s achievements representing the studies until the 1960s are good examples. They have recently led to the joint publication of an art catalog on South Korea and Kazakhstan’s gold culture. Second, we should move away from the narrow nationalism advocated by nowindependent countries and pursue the research at the international level. The real value of the Silk Road should lie in finding common ground beyond borders and ideology. Thus, it is necessary to understand the research trends in individual countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia. The Asian Archaeology conference held annually by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage of South Korea is one of excellent examples of such an effort. Finally, archaeological research on the Silk Road should move forward not just as an academic pursuit but also as a means of global cultural cooperation. In this regard, active collaboration with international organizations, such as UNESCO, is crucial. As such, if these three aspects are considered together, the international archaeological research on the Silk Road led by South Korea in the new phase of the 21st century will contribute to the Silk Road research in the new era.

The reform of the system of waste management of production and consumption has been implemented for the third decade, but so far it has not been completed and requires further adjustment of all systems of state and municipal administration in order to achieve the stated goals. The article examines the historical roots of the system of waste management of production and consumption and its efficiency. The paper analyses the reasons for the insufficient functioning in Russia of the system of waste management of production and consumption. Improving efficiency requires the development of new approaches to the development of integrated measures and systemic solutions that include the full range of incentives, both material and moral.

The article is timed to coincide with two anniversaries: centenary of the Communist Party of China, and thirty years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. According to the author’s idea, these two anniversaries correlate: analysis of the reasons and consequences of the USSR dissolution became one of the factors of current policy of Chinese communists. The article brings light to this coherence. A wide range of Chinese sources and literature regarding 1991 events in the USSR was used for the article. Another feature is the attention to historical context of the late 1980s – early 1990s, analysis of which helps to understand domination of conservative view to the USSR dissolution. The article shows how the Chinese state and party interest in the Soviet experience led to creation of a large bulk of works regarding historical, sociological and culturological aspects of the USSR dissolution. The analysis of the most impactful of these works shows a wide range of views regarding certain aspects (fi rst of all, the role of reforms in the fi nal dissolution of the state) and consensus regarding other aspects (negative role of Mikhail Gorbachev, labelling the dissolution of the USSR and the Communist Party as a ‘catastrophe’). Further analysis of the Soviet experience led to such measures by the Chinese leadership like strengthening of partocracy regime, conducting of media-covered anti-smuggling campaigns, establishing of harsh administrative and security control in areas with ethnic minorities, active counterpropaganda and struggling with foreign information infl uence. Appellation to the negative experience of the USSR and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is using by the Chinese leadership in its propaganda as an argument for unacceptability of any political reforms regarding weakening of the party role.

The “Voices” section in Apparatus serves as a venue for a wide range of critical reflections and responses. The positions adopted or views expressed are not constrained by the traditional formalities of academic writing. The contributions may take the form of critical exegesis, polemic, journalistic and/or diaristic reflection, or personal (confessional) response. The principle that unites them is (relative) brevity in terms of length and concentration of focus. The contributors in question were among a number of academics, researchers, and cultural commentators invited by the editors of Apparatus for their responses to DAU after the panel discussions of the project hosted on 7 December 2020 and 26 January 2021 by the Russian Cinema Research Group at University College London, on 23 September 2020 by the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, on 15 January 2021 by the European University at St. Petersburg.