Abstract: This article discusses the position and role of the Varangian Guard in the internal political events of Byzantine Empire during the reign of the emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian (1034 – 1041). The subject of the article is the Varangian Guard as a tool for maintaining power in the context of internal political struggle in Byzantium. The main conclusion of the study is the assumption that the active period of the formation of the Varangian Guard falls on the beginning of the reign of the Paphlagonian dynasty. The Byzantine emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian (1034 – 1041) and his relatives, who did not have strong ties with representatives of the Byzantine civil or military nobility, relied on the Varangian guard to maintain their own power and used it as an instrument of internal political struggle. The novelty of the study lies in a comprehensive analysis of the activities of the Varangian Guard during the reign of the emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian (1034 – 1041) on the basis of Byzantine, Scandinavian and Old Russian sources of different times. In addition, the Varangian Guard is for the first time considered as an instrument not so much of the imperial power, but of the power of the Paphlagonian dynasty.

Keywords: Heimskringla, Middle Ages, Michael IV Paphlagonian, Paphlagonian dynasty, Byzantine, Varangian guard, Harald Hardrada, Macedonian dynasty, dynasty, governance

Abstract: The subject of the study is the views of the main representatives of the Russian socio –political thought of the pro–monarchist wing of the second half of the XIX - early XX century regarding the religious and ideological aspects of the monarchical idea. The comparative method is used to analyze the concepts of the selected authors. Also, the Cambridge School method was used in the analysis of texts, mainly the approach of J. Pocock to the reconstruction of political discourses. The analysis of the religious basis of the monarchical system allocated by thinkers is carried out, the conclusion is made about its significance as a basis and as the main marker of differentiation between different types of monarchy. Special attention is paid to various concepts concerning the monarchical ideology and monarchical statehood of the main representatives of the monarchical wing of Russian socio – political thought of the second half of the XIX – early XX century . The novelty and relevance of the work is determined by the consideration of certain aspects of the monarchy as a separate, independent system outside the context of conservative discourse, which makes it possible to interpret the monarchist ideology as an independent direction of political thought; this question has not yet been raised in this way directly in modern historiography. It is concluded that the idea of the greatest correspondence of the monarchical system to the natural political aspirations of the human community prevails in the works of the thinkers under consideration. Also, the author believes it possible, based on the representation of Russian monarchists of the era under study, to speak about the exceptional role of religious and moral categories as the basis of the monarchical system, which also serves as the basis for distinguishing the monarchical system from the standard opposition of liberalism and conservatism.

Keywords: despotism, autocracy, absolutism, naturalness, supra - partisanship, church, paganism, christianity, religion, monarchy

Abstract: The subject of the study is the anti-religious policy built by the state in the Kuibyshev region during the onset of the "thaw". During the onset of the "thaw", the Soviet people initially received hope for more free relations in the cultural environment, representatives of various faiths did not exclude this possibility, but this period was marked by a period of "Khrushchev persecution" by historians. Even during the period of "late Stalinism", the government, consisting of positive supporters of reconciliation with the church, put forward a course "for balanced relations with the Russian Orthodox Church." But this course was stopped in the 1950s by N.S. Khrushchev, who came to power. He and his supporters spoke of this path as unjustified and wrong, saying that this course was a sign of "Stalinism". The main conclusions of the study are that during this period a number of methods of combating religious organizations were used: propaganda was carried out at mass events, mandatory lectures by teachers and well-known professors were held, taxes were increased for administrative positions and representatives of the church, and financial powers and economic decisions of local civil authorities were appropriated, which directly limited the activities of the clergy of any religion for the care, development and dissemination of their worldview. These measures helped to exercise financial and ideological control over the activities of religious denominations. In addition, many parishioners and religious figures could not remain parishioners of religious organizations because of the achievements of scientific progress. All these internal and external factors forced the population to rethink beliefs and open up to new ideas. The research materials can be used in the process of organizing classes on the subject "History of the Samara Region", recommended as part of the school component in the curriculum of educational institutions of the Samara region, in the work of historical circles and extracurricular activities of schoolchildren and students.

Keywords: power, religion, Kuibyshev region, Kuibyshev, scientific and atheistic propaganda, Khrushchev, religious denominations, anti-religious policy, thaw, Soviet period

Abstract: The article is devoted to the reconstruction of the historical experience of police protection of postal institutions by the ranks of gendarmerie police departments of railways in the Russian Empire. The purpose of this article is to study the main measures that were implemented by the gendarmerie police to ensure the safety of postal transportation by rail, as well as the disclosure of the tactics of intruders who committed daring robberies on mail trains. The object of the study is the historical experience of the official activities of the gendarmerie railway police of the Russian Empire. The subject is the police protection of the activities of the post office within the railways by gendarmes. Following the fundamental principles of historicism, comprehensiveness and objectivity formed the methodological basis of the study. During the research, the author relied on the apparatus of general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, concretization. The use of special historical research methods made it possible to reveal the content of the process of police protection of postal items from criminal encroachments within the domestic railways: from the standpoint of the historical-systematic method, the gendarmerie service is understood as an integral complex of interrelated measures; the historical-genetic method made it possible to form a detailed description of the main features of the railway gendarmes service in terms of the protection of postal goods.

Keywords: escort, criminal gang, train robbery, mail train, post office, transport police, gendarme, Police Department, railway, identifying informers

Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of the war between the Rhodesian government and the black rebels from 1965 to 1979. The relevance of the work is due to the lack of fundamental research on these events in modern Russian historiography. The object of the study is the armed conflict in the territory of the Rhodesia, which took place in 1965-1979. The subject of the study is the activities of the rebel organizations that opposed the white government of the country. The author studied in detail the main events of the war in Rhodesia. Also, the work defines the role of external influence on the parties to the conflict under consideration, special attention is paid to the study of terrorist acts that were committed by members of rebel organizations. Based on the study, it can be concluded that the war in Rhodesia (1965-1979) was a civil conflict, while also being a local conflict within the global confrontation between capitalist and socialist countries. At the same time, the actions of the rebel organizations were by no means just a struggle for independence, but were accompanied by bloody terrorist acts against the civilian population.The scientific novelty of the article lies in the study of the main events of the military conflict, as well as in the study of the methods of fighting the rebels against the government of Rhodesia. The author's special contribution to the study of the topic is a detailed description of the terrorist acts in Rhodesia that were committed by members of the rebel organizations.

Keywords: terrorism, civil war, war in Rhodesia, local conflict, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia, ZAPU, ZANU