Abstract: The article discusses some aspects of the legal defense of the defendants of the International Military Tribunal for the Trial and Punishment of the Main War Criminals of the European Axis Countries and the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. A comparative analysis of the provisions of the Statutes of international Tribunals concerning the rights of the accused to defense is given. The rights of the defendants are considered in detail, including the right to defend themselves personally, the right to choose a lawyer, and the right to provide evidence.
The article is carried out within the framework of the study of the history of international criminal justice and the history of the formation of international criminal law. The analysis of some modern problems in the field of ensuring the rights of defendants to defense in the activities of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as well as their origins found in the activities of the ICTY, is carried out. Using the methods of comparative jurisprudence, the analysis of the norms of law established in the statutes of the Tribunals was carried out. The dogmatic method is applied in the interpretation of the norms of law set forth in the statutes. The dogmatic method is applied in the interpretation of the norms of law set forth in the statutes. The author concludes that some modern problems of international criminal justice originate in post-war tribunals. Thus, violations of the rights of the accused by the ICTY had their historical roots in the form of norms laid down in the Statute of the Tokyo Tribunal. A proposal was made on the need to develop basic rules for granting the right of protection to defendants, based on the experience of international criminal trials. It is also concluded that it is necessary to exclude the possibility of pressure from international courts, judges and prosecutors themselves on defenders. For this purpose, it is proposed to provide for the impossibility for judges to arbitrarily ban unwanted lawyers from participating in the process. It is also proposed to introduce a direct ban on the appointment of a lawyer to the defendant against his will and to provide for the possibility of recusal of a lawyer only in the case of a proven crime against the administration of international justice.

Abstract: The U.S. lawyers played the leading role in organization and arrangement of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) intended for trial of the main Japanese war criminals. Tribunal was established by a charter issued by the U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur, who was appointed as a Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan. Therefore, prevalence of Anglo-Saxon legal family is evident in the practice of tribunal. One of them is the use of affidavit in the Tokyo International Military Tribunal. The article applies the method of comparative legal studies; conducts analysis of the legal norms stipulated in decrees of the tribunals. Dogmatic method is employed for interpretation of legal norms presented in the decrees. The author examines the practice of presenting and usage of affidavit in the course of judicial procedure in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Affidavits were provided into the tribunal by prosecution witnesses, as well as by defendants themselves. The article also demonstrated the use of affidavits by the U.S. administration for political purposes.  

Abstract: Among the preserved in the schools of martial arts heritage of Japanese warrior culture, the author highlights a particular system of medical knowledge that was applied for medical treatment or development of the more efficient method for elimination of enemies. Leaning on the Chinese medicine and knowledge of the medical plants, Japanese people complemented it with the unique practical knowledge acquired in the military field circumstances and during training in the area of martial arts. The results of this work contribute into the knowledge on the structure, development, and heritage of the warrior cultures and schools of Japanese martial arts, as well as the history of medicine overall. The schools of martial arts are presents as a complex cultural phenomenon that manifests as a multifunctional institution for upbringing of a feudal warrior.

Abstract: This article examines the vector of influence of the knights of the Order of St. John upon cultural and economic development of Malta and Maltese Archipelago. Status of the island before the arrival of the Order is being reviewed. The author demonstrates the process of development of Malta during the ruling of the Order, as well as main changes that turned the poor and struggling from pirate raids island into a pearl of European Christian culture of the Mediterranean world. Among the main changes are the following: growth of population, construction of new cities and ports, development of trade, medicine, and social wellness in general. The conclusion is made about the extensive role of the system of political administration and composition of political elite of the country from the perspective of its cultural and economic development. The knights, who perceived the island as citadel of Christianity and their struggle against the unfaithful, did all possible and necessary for its strengthening and progress.

Abstract: The article reviews main works published in the Russian Empire in the 19th – early 20th century that mention Japanese martial arts. Introduction to Japanese martial arts went hand in hand with introduction to Japanese culture and history. Martial arts were first mentioned already in Captain Golovin notes that were published in 1818. Publications analyzed in the article include academic and magazine articles, memoirs of historical figures, Russian translations of foreign education materials and popular-science literature. The author used basic methodology of historical research like genetic and typological methods, as well as historiographic analysis. This article is aimed to make an asset to the history of martial arts in Russia, history of sport and wrestling in Russia, as well as East Asian studies in Russia. The article discusses the attention of pre-revolutionary Russian-speaking public paid to Japanese martial arts and the stages of theoretical and practical knowledge accumulation in this field. Some published materials are used as historical sources for the very first time.

Abstract: The subject of the research is the philosophy of the Japanese martial arts schools. The article deals with the philosophical category of "essence" and "phenomenon", as the most developed components of the philosophical system of Japanese martial arts schools. On the basis of Zen Neo-Confucian and Buddhist concepts, martial arts masters and founders  developed their own philosophical system aimed primarily at the practical implementation of philosophical principles in martial arts and warrior path in general. The research is based on the analysis of historical sources, works of masters of martial arts as well as articles and scientific papers of leading specialists in this field. The author of the article demonstrates that based on the conceptual framework 'essence - phenomenon' the masters and founders of Japanese martial arts schools developed strategic principles and tactics that implied the application of theoretical philosophical concepts to daily practice and training of a soldier. In addition, theoretical description of these categories is also interesting.

Abstract: The objects of research are the moral imperatives of the Knights of Malta. In his article Lestev in details described the basic concepts of the knight identity: honor, loyalty, justice, mercy and obedience in terms of the formation of a special system of military-religious order. Despite the universal nature of these concepts, their semantic content as well as localization are different  in a variety of military communities and cultures. This determines the importance of examining the spiritual aspirations, spiritual quest of man, his moral imperatives in the study of a particular culture. In addition to the general historical research methods, the author also used socio-psychological and comparative (comparative cultural studies) methods to describe the development of the system of moral imperatives of knights of the spiritual Order and to compare them with similar concepts of secular knights. As the main result of this study, Lestev shows the transition made by members of the Order of Malta from feudal thinking to thinking about whole Christian world, generally good-Christian, which was the forerunner of modern humanistic ideas and international organizations providing humanitarian assistance in all parts of the world. It was the first time the knights of religious orders were able to counter and implement the idea of the common good opposing to the idea of profit and personal advantage. 

Abstract: The article focuses on the postwar relations between the Soviet Union, the USA and Japan, particularly, on the issue of extradition of the Emperor Hirohito to the International Military Tribunal for war crimes. The question of appropriateness of punishment was considered by American command on the base of the analysis of specialists and in terms of the political consequences of this step for the American policy towards Japan. The issue of the emperor prosecution was one of the main contradictions between the USSR and the USA in the sphere of a postwar order in Japan and served as one of catalysts of worsening of relations between the USSR and Japan. The research is based on the historical documents, the evidences of the witnesses of those events and the articles and scientific works of the leading specialists in this sphere. The author concludes that American specialists had a perfect understanding of the mentality of the Japanese and managed to choose a successful strategy in relation to Japan and the USSR. Using the issues of prosecution of the emperor, repatriation of Japanese prisoners of war, territorial belonging of the Kuril Islands, the USA created a “Japanese problem” for the USSR, which hasn’t been solved yet.