Abstract: The purpose of the study is a comparative analysis of the French narrative of "Oriental despotism" in the first half of the 19th century with the modern political agenda of France in relation to Russia and the Special Military Operation (SVO). The subject of the study is the ideological justification and media coverage of French international campaigns in the first half of the 19th century and today. The object of the study is the narrative of "Oriental despotism" in the ideology of the political elites of France. The relevance of the research topic is justified by the wide spread of historical anti-Russian narratives in the politics of Western powers. The article examines the plot of "oriental despotism" as a justification for the population of the expansionist policy of France in the first half of the XIX century. A study is being conducted on the formation of the narrative of "Oriental despotism" in the political culture of the West and France in particular. The main elements of the narrative are determined, consisting in the dehumanization of the enemy, by constructing the image of his state and population as a barbaric uncivilized world, which needs to bring the benefits of civilization and the Christian faith.   The research methodology is based on systemic, geopolitical and civilizational approaches. Both general scientific research methods (analysis, synthesis, comparison) were used in the work so it is specialized. The specialized ones include qualitative content analysis, historical and comparative method. According to the results of the study, it was revealed that the narrative of "Eastern despotism" is a process of creating a dehumanistic image of an enemy or a political regime based on the antagonistic opposition of civilization and barbarism. Given the status of the French state as one of the main protectors of the Catholic faith, which has persisted throughout its centuries-old history, the narrative was supported by a religious component. The general formula of the ideological justification of the French imperialist expansion was the positioning of the initiation of hostilities by the need to protect the Christian faith and the local population from the despotic regime. In the case of the invasion of Algeria and the Crimean War of 1853-1856, French propaganda used the image of a "crusade", thereby giving the military operation the status of the highest "civilizing mission". At the present stage, France is actively using the narrative of "Oriental despotism" against Russia, which is manifested in a whole range of publications seeking to create in the eyes of the French public a picture of the Russian state as a "despotic, Asian monarchy" with pronounced expansionist aspirations.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the problems of the military system of the Russian Empire in the years of the reign of Nicholas I. The subject of the study is the military organization of the Russian Empire in the middle of the XIX century. The object of the study is the Russian army in the Crimean War (1853-1856). The focus is on the organization of the armed forces of the Empire, the training of enlisted and officers, logistics and pensions, as well as military production in the middle of the XIX century. Traditionally, in Russian historiography, the main drawbacks of the military system were called the technical lag of the Russian Empire from the European armies and the serfdom structure of the domestic power. During the study of the topic, it was revealed that the issue of armament was not the fundamental reason for the defeat of the empire in the conflict. Soldiers recruited according to the recruitment system could not equivalently resist European armies based on a system of consription or voluntary recruitment. The difficult conditions of service in the army of the Russian Empire in the XIX century, led to the complete depletion of the reserve stock, which was clearly manifested in the years. The Crimean War (1853-1856). In combination with significant shortcomings in the training of private and officer, this led to the absolute hegemony of the Allied army in field battles. Many of these problems were known to the highest military and political leadership of the country, which initiated a number of military reforms to correct them. Nicholas I failed to implement these changes before the outbreak of the Crimean War. Already after the conflict, under the leadership of the Minister of War Milyutin D.A., within the framework of the "Great Reforms of the 1860s", many of these problems were resolved to one degree or another. The study is of a general nature, and this topic requires further detailed study of each of the aspects mentioned in the work.

Abstract: The article examines the publications of the Boston Pilot for the period from 1849 to 1856, devoted to the Eastern question and the Crimean War. The purpose of the study is to analyze the views of Catholic Americans on the events of the mid-19th century, as a result of America's information policy to counter British expansionism in the 19th century. The subject of the study are the issues of the Boston Pilot magazine, which feature articles on the Eastern question and the Crimean War. The lower chronological frame is due to the fact that the events of 1849 ("Spring of the Peoples") served as a prologue to the crisis in the East. The object of the study is the information policy of America, aimed at forming a narrative about the Eastern question and the Crimean War among the American Catholic population, following the American foreign policy course of the XIX century.   According to the results of the study, it was revealed that the newspaper's publications can be divided into two periods according to their tonality. The first one, from 1849 to 1853, follows the pan-European discourse and contains statements and provisions with an anti-Russian orientation. The subsequent escalation of the conflict with the inclusion of Great Britain and France in the conflict leads to a transformation of the views of the authors of the Boston Pilot on the events taking place. The publication begins to position the conflict as a tool to weaken the British Empire, urging readers to refrain from direct participation. In this interpretation, Russia appears as a lesser evil necessary for the fight against Britain. The attitude of the Catholic population of the United States to the events of the middle should be positioned as anti-British. The assessment of sentiments as pro-Russian is erroneous and creates a misconception not only about American society of the period under review, but also about US foreign policy in the XIX century.

Abstract: The article examines the image of the Sevastopol garrison and the Russian army during the Crimean War in the works of English-speaking authors. The aim of the study is to reveal the main trends in the consecration of the events of the Crimean (Eastern) War in the studies of American and British researchers. Due to the current situation related to restrictions on the part of foreign publishers, it was not possible to consider a number of works published in the period from 1970 to 2020. The subject of the study is the works of English-speaking authors devoted to the history of the Crimean War (1853-1856). The object of the research is the narrative created by English-speaking authors around the Russian army and the garrison of Sevastopol during the First defense of the city.  Based on the research that was found in the public domain, the author comes to the conclusion that the dominant trend in the English-language literature on the Crimean War is to consider events from the point of view of exclusively British or Allied retrospect. At the same time, due attention is either not paid to the Russian side at all or it represents a brief dry squeeze. The emphasis on battlefields, on problems of supply and training of the Allied army command staff, on weather conditions takes the defense of Sevastopol and its importance into the background. Statements and assessments that are openly Russophobic in nature are not as widely presented as in studies on the Second World War.

Abstract: This article is dedicated one of the most remarkable kings of Jerusalem Baldwin IV, also calked the “Leper King”. The goal lies in analyzing the role of Baldwin IV in military-political history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The central task is to determine historical veracity of the positive image of Baldwin IV described in literature and cinematography. The historiographical framework is comprised on the works of national and foreign authors devoted to the history of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; works of the Latin chronographers, as well as fragments from Arabic sources that were translated into English by M. C. Lyons and D. E. P. Jackson in their monograph “Saladin: the Politics of the Holy War”. The article raises the question of whether it is possible to advance a thesis that Baldwin IV is the prominent ruler of his time based on the analysis of personal traits and actions. Special attention is given to consideration of the domestic policy of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late XII century, as well as relationship of the young king with different political alliances. The conclusion is made that by virtue of his personal traits and actions, Baldwin IV significantly contributed to ensuring security of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. However, serious illness alongside critical internal challenges, led to the siege of Crusader state in the Battle of Hattin. Baldwin IV was unable to prevent it. The personality of Baldwin IV has not previously become the object of separate comprehensive study, which defines the scientific novelty of this paper. The article also views the events that took place in the Kingdom of Jerusalem over the period from 1160 to 1180 from the perspective of personality approach.