Abstract: The article discusses general theoretical considerations about the factor of foreign purchases in solving the transport crisis in Russia during the First World War. At the same time, the main emphasis is placed on a historiographical review of the problem, which allows us to formulate a vector for further research. Since the end of 1914, it has become obvious to the political and military leadership of the country that the requirements of wartime in some industries significantly exceed the capabilities of domestic manufacturers. First of all, this applies to railways, front and rear, which constantly needed a huge number of new rails and fasteners to them, switches, bandages, wagons of various types, locomotives and other materials. The inability to produce the necessary materials in the right quantity at Russian enterprises naturally led to the need to purchase them abroad, primarily in the United States and allied countries - Great Britain and France. Since 1915, foreign procurement has been on a wide scale. Military and civilian authorities, trying to improve the operation of transport, which is critical in wartime conditions, are gradually expanding the range of goods ordered abroad for transport purposes, including cars, materials for aviation and the navy.

Abstract: The subject of this study is the teaching of humanities to students of technical specialties. The object of the research is the methodology of project activity in the higher education system aimed at expanding the professional competencies of engineering students. The authors consider in detail such aspects as interdisciplinary and personalized approaches in the higher education system and the key parameters of their relationship with project work. Special attention is paid in the article to the tasks that the project activity solves. Among them are the formation of knowledge, skills and abilities in key competencies, work in an interdisciplinary field, the formation of teamwork skills and the ability to evaluate it. The study provides a detailed description of the implemented projects at ITMO University. The scientific novelty lies in the presentation of the results of the approbation of projects of different scientific and pedagogical orientation. The main conclusions of the study convincingly demonstrate that the applied nature of projects is key for the development of skills in the historical and cultural field. At the same time, there is an adaptation of current knowledge about the current state of historical science. As a result, the focus on interdisciplinary and personalized approaches is directly reflected in the framework of project work by integrating historical knowledge with digital methods and research and tools of technical sciences.

Abstract: The subject of the research in this article is the loss of aviation forces on the Leningrad Front during the blockade. The authors consider in detail the statistical data on losses in the composition of the aviation defending Leningrad from the perspective of an integrated approach to the study of the history of the blockade of the city as a single unbroken process, which is an important expansion of scientific knowledge about the affected problem. In addition, this study is based on the materials of the Leningrad Front Air Force headquarters, which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. Particular attention is paid in the article to the comparative analysis of losses among personnel with aircraft losses for the same period. The main conclusions of the presented study demonstrate that the periods of increasing losses of personnel and materiel are naturally associated with the stages of massive counter-offensive operations in September 1942, January and September 1943, in January 1944. However, the data provided also indicate a number of unique provisions. As a result, the presented information allows us to somewhat expand the available data on the actions of aviation in the defense of Leningrad. The use of statistical materials allows us to ask some important questions, the scientific answer to which will be inextricably linked to the more general problems of the history of the defense and blockade of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the aviation industry during the siege of Leningrad. This topic is gaining relevance due to the recently published documents dedicated to the work of the higher party authorities in the period from 1941 to 1944. In the summer-autumn of 1941, Leningrad was detached from the “main land”. In these conditions, the full operational control over resource base of the city fell on the shoulders of the Soviet and party authorities, who received additional powers, and thus, responsibilities. The author provides an alternative outlook on the activity of the Leningrad plants under the People's Commissariat of Aviation Industry of the USSR, not from the perspective of classical reconstruction of the history of aviation industry in the USSR during the war, but a specific managerial task that was resolved by the party leadership using the general resource base. The conclusion is made that despite the evacuation of the vast majority of production facilities of aviation industry during the war, the resource base was adapted to the specific tasks of the Leningrad Front. The city manufactured the industrial products in accordance with the orders and requirements of the Soviet Air Force. Mobilization of the Leningrad industrial base for the tasks of aviation units during the war years in many ways became a crucial factor in maintaining the combat effectiveness of the Air Force, namely during the rough winter of 1941/1942, when the replenishment of aviation units with new equipment ceased  for the most part.