Abstract: The object of this research is the initiatives “Silk Road Economic Belt” of the People's Republic of China and “Great Eurasian Partnership” of the Russian Federation. Subject of this research is the content and history of development of the concepts. The goal is to analyze the prerequisites for advancing the initiatives, determine their points of intersection and fundamental differences. The common feature is the presence of external factors associated with the beginning of Trans-Pacific Partnership, as well as Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which pressed Russia and China to develop their own strategy in Eurasia. The fundamental difference is that the “Silk Road Economic Belt” does not imply the creation of any supranational governing body. The author underlines the rapid pace of implementation of the Chinese initiative and high degree of resistance to the negative factors. The conclusion is made that the practical content and scientific substantiation of the concept of “Greater Eurasian Partnership” continue to be discussed. The initiative “Silk Road Economic Belt” is not much “older”; however, in seven years of its existence became the core of the economic and foreign policy vector of the People's Republic of China. Considering the experience of its evolution, the establishment of the Greater Eurasian Partnership should start with the conduct of international conferences that discuss the target points and mechanisms of implementation of the proposed initiative. For bringing such idea to life, it is necessary to create a financial platform and attract investors. It seems reasonable to develop the strategy for the formation of the Greater Eurasian Partnership around the objective towards strengthening the Eurasian Economic Union as the foundation for the future integration association.

Keywords: the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Free Trade Zone, the Interface, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Greater Eurasian Partnership, Silk Road Foundation, Great Silk Road, pandemic, the Silk Road of Health, the Digital Silk Road

Abstract: This article covers the foundation of Kievan Metropolia, which remains a stumbling stone for the modern historians. The author draws parallels between the opinions of experts of the past (G. Geltzer, J. Darrouzès, M. D. Priselkov, A. Poppen and E. Honigmann) and the latest scientific data. In the middle of the XX century, the Byzantinist E. Honigmann was first to use in solution of this problem the Byzantine codes of cannon – lists of metropolias of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (notitiae episcopatuum). The modern Russian historiography proves the hypothesis of E. Honigmann that “the Russian Metropolia as a part of Tsarigrad Patriarchate was established by 997 at the latest”. However, the latest research confute the outdated argument that Kievan Metropolia initially was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This article is first to introduce the Byzantine source of the late X century – the message of Leo of Synada to the anonymous Metropolis of Ephesus from the collection Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Cod. Vindob. Phil. Gr. 342. fol. 163v, 166v-167v.). Although, the Vienna manuscript has been subjected to detailed description in a number of works, with regards to realities of the time of Christianization of Rus’ is examined for the first time. The unique information from the message of Leo of Synada about the Metropolis of Ephesus as “Head of the Church” was verified based on the paramount post-Byzantine monument of the XVI century, which is the synodic “assertive” charter of the Patriarch of Constantinople Joasaph II (of December 1560). The comparative analysis of Byzantine sources of the X and the XVI centuries, which contain identical information on this topic, confirms that namely Metropolitan of Ephesus, endowed with patriarchal dignity and nominated as “head of the Church” in the Greek manuscript of the X century from the collection Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, became the legitimate participant of creation of the autocephalous Kievan Metropolia since the time of Christianization of Rus’ by Vladimir the Great.

Keywords: international law, baptism, power, titles, autocephaly, church, Ancient Russia, Byzantium, historical science, orthodoxy

Abstract: The Republic of Korea underwent intensive industrialization in the 1960s – 1970s, followed by a range of sociocultural transformations. The society suffered changes, and the fact that the government restricted freedom in sociopolitical environment and undertook unpopular economic decisions made this process even more painful. This led to the formation of civil opposition. The composition of the participants in the movement against the dictatorship was diverse, and all of them to one or another extent infringed on their rights. An interesting nuance of the movement for democracy in South Korea is the role of the Christian Church in its consolidation. The subject of this research is the Christian Church in the movement against dictatorship in the Republic of Korea. The goal is to analyze the process of the Christian church's joining the protest movement. The questions of interaction between the society and religious circles, the level of Church engagement in the social processes remain on the agenda in many countries. The novelty of this work is defined by articulation of the problem. The emphasis is placed on the motives of social participation of the Christian Church in South Korea, its interaction with the society and government structures. The following conclusions were made: joining the antigovernment movement by the Protestant and Catholic churches in South Korea is first and foremost associated with their pursuit to expand their range of influence, increase the number of believers prevailing in the competition, and secondly –  with the response to authoritarian methods of governing the country. The interaction between society and the Church within the framework of democratic movement was mutually advantageous. The level of involvement of various religious organizations differed, but all Christian denominations represented in South Korea in one way or another proved themselves in the fight against the dictatorship.

Keywords: minjung theology, Park Chung Hee's regime, Urban Industrial Mission, socio-political movement, the movement for democracy, Catholic Church, Protestant Сhurch, Christian church, authoritarian regime, Republic of Korea

Abstract: Almost three decades have passed since the dissolution of the Soviet Union; however, there is still no unity towards its history – various political actors interpret it differently. Analysis is conducted on the politics of memory of the parties that participated in the last two election campaigns in reference to the Soviet period. The goal of article is to determine the parties with own politics of memory; assess the attitude of the political parties on the Soviet history as a whole and isolated key events; as well as describe experience of using the politics of memory in electoral cycle. The opposition parties – the CPRF, LDPR, Yabloko, PARNAS, and the Communists of Russia – most actively referred to the politics of memory. The center of political attention became the history of the Soviet period, to which different approaches were applied. The liberal parties criticized the USSR and advocated decommunization, while the left-wing parties notices only positive aspects in the Soviet history. The LDPR offered to separate the attitude towards the Soviet regime, and the attitude towards the state. Although the political parties have not fully fulfilled their potential as the actors of the politics of memory, the development of the own strategies of interpretation of history is traced clearly. The politics of memory may evolve into a separate vector of major party politics.

Keywords: history of USSR, Kommunisty Rossii, LDPR, KPRF, PARNAS, Yabloko, historical memory, historical policy, election, decommunization

Abstract: The chronicle “History of Giray Khan” is a valuable source on the history of Caucasus of the XV century. The text of the chronicle mentions the vilayet – the administrative divisions of Girim, Charkas, Chachan, Dagestan, Ganja and Shamakhi; the region Chachan alongside other domains is conquered by Giray Khan – the representative of Giray Dynasty and leader of the Circassians. This substantiates the need for studying the text to determine the time of the conquest of Chachan, as well as other areas of the region, which would allow studying the history of the region more thoroughly. Comparative analysis is conducted on the events described in the chronicle and the overall historical picture of this period. The author draws parallel, and in some instances direct identification of the known events and dynasties with the episodes and characters from the chronicle. An attempt is made to dateline all key events associated with the activity of Giray Khan, including the conquest of the Chachan Vilayet. The dates acquired in the course of analysis give a more detailed perspective on the history of Central and Norteast Caucasus, including the Chechen Republic. The historical analysis proves the facts described in the chronicle and reveals the circumstances of the conquest of North Caucasus. There is no sufficient grounds to fully identify Giray Khan with Khan Nur Devlet. However, the image of Giray Khan encapsulated part of the biography of the Crimean khan, and perhaps depicts the story of the son, one of the brothers, or a close relative of Nur Devlet, who became the ruler in Caucasus, and possibly, founded one of the Kumukh Shamkhal dynasties. The Giray Khan’s conquest of the Chachan vilayet the author dates to 1452-1459, with a remark that the entire process has taken place in three or four waves during the last third of the XIV – mid XV century.

Keywords: 15th century, Circassians, Golden Horde, Crimea, Gireikhan, Chechens, Chechnya, Chachan, Caucasus, Shamkhal

Abstract: The object of this research is the persona of N. L. Skalozubov – agronomist of Tobolsk governorate, public and political figure, breeder, and scholar. The subject of this research is his social circle during the period of being a deputy to the State Duma of the 2nd and 3rd convocations. The goal is to examine the relationships between the deputy N. L. Skalozubov and former colleagues, like-minded people, representatives of science, government, family, and friends. Special attention is given to his participation in the lives of political exiles. The article employs the published and unpublished sources, preserved in the Tobolsk State Archive and Tobolsk Historical and Architectural Reserve Museum (correspondence, memoirs, diaries).. The scientific novelty is defined by the fact that the circle of contacts of the deputy N. L. Skalozubov becomes the subject of special study for the first time. The author concludes that during the five years as a deputy to the State Duma of the 2nd and 3rd convocations, N. L. Skalozubov communicated with numerous people belonging to various social classes, including prominent scientists, public figures, and politicians.

Keywords: the State Duma, political prisoners, The First Russian Revolution, Tobolsk Provincial Museum, Tobolsk province, scientist, provincial agronomist, Nikolai Skalozubov, politician, circle of contacts

Abstract: This article describes the process of formation of industrial and sociocultural departments of the Belarusian Society of the Deaf in the 1980s. During this period, the number of its members has decreased. However, the central board of the Belarusian Society of the Deaf set a goal to amplify the number of hearing-impaired persons in the industrial sector by creating conditions for improving socioeconomic level of its members, which expanded the demand for employment in training and production enterprises. The Belarusian Society of the Deaf also focused on the development of group hobby and recreation activities, such as pantomimic art and physical culture. The high performance of this public organization in the 1980s directly depended on the ideological support of the five-year plans, early execution of socialistic obligations and production tasks, which contributed to successful solution of the problems of rehabilitation and social adaptation of the hearing-impaired persons in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The article employs the problem-chronological method that allows following the time sequence of events; historical-genetic and historical-comparative methods. The presented materials are based on the sources of the Fund 1112 of the National Archive of the Republic of Belarus, which are introduced into the scientific discourse for the first time, which fills the gap in historical science.

Keywords: cultural institutions, capital construction, training and production enterprises, Central Board, structure, Belarusian Society of the Deaf, rehabilitation, sports, self-financing, hearing prosthetics

Abstract: The subject of this research is the development of theoretical representations on the mechanism of public administration in Russia of the XVIII century. The goal is to determine in the texts of draft reforms prepared by Count P. I. Shuvalov the provisions on the objectives and principles of public administration, as well as to analyze his views on the process of reforming state and social institutions. In the texts of P. I. Shuvalov examines such elements of public administration theory as the administrative objectives, its subject matter, instruments, and administrative decision-making process. It allowed establishing correlation between the two concepts: “the good of the state” and “the common good”, as the goals pursued by public administration. The formulated by Shuvalov principles of public administration fully corresponded to the principles advanced by the philosophers of the European Enlightenment. The conducted analysis decision-making mechanism reveals a universal algorithm, which implies several stages of development of the reforms: a) outlining the problem that needs to be solved using the instruments of public administration ; b) determining the causes of this problem; c) proposing solution to the problem, d) discussing the proposed solution, indicating the instruments that need to be implemented by the state.

Keywords: common good, Shuvalov, state, history of managerial thought, history of public administration, history of Russia, the reign of Elizabeth, XVIIII century, history of political thought, governance

Abstract: The subject of this research is the analysis of didactic works used in the late XVIII — early XIX centuries in the educational process of the first Russian institutes for women — the Educational Society of Noble Maidens and School of the Order of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg. The new secular upbringing and education – one of the core ideas of the European Enlightenment, at that time was perceived in Russia as a state task, which required the establishment of closed educational institutions, such as cadet corps and institutes for women. The primary method for distribution of pedagogical ideas was moralizing literature of the Western European educators, which were translated into the Russian language and became available for the audience; and the second half of the XVIII century marks the emergence of publications of the Russian authors. This article is first to follow the sequence of changes of textbooks and “books for reading” selected for the students of the Educational Society of Noble Maidens and School of the Order of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg using hermeneutic method, as well as conduct their historical-comparative analysis based on the principle of historicism. The translated works of the Western European educators were replaced by the curriculum specifically created for the Russian female students at the request of the Empress Maria Feodorovna, which included the advanced ideas of both Western and national educators. It was another step in a difficult path towards establishment of the national pedagogical system.

Keywords: pedagogy, Age of Enlightment, traditional culture, historical source, elitist education, modernization of Russian society, Russian Empire, moralizing literature, girls’ boarding schools, Smolnyi Institute