Abstract: The article presents the formulation of the scientific problem regarding the study of actions taken by the higher Soviet and party leadership of Leningrad during the blockade years. The author focuses on the relevance of examining the methods of managing the city under these unique circumstances. The analysis of the distribution of power authority will clarify the principles of Leningrad's functioning during the war and its connection to the overall structure of political leadership in the USSR. In recent years, this area has gained significant momentum due to the publication of a wide range of documents and materials. In this regard, the research's source base consists of a substantial array of decisions and resolutions from the Bureau of the Regional and City Committees of the VKP(b), the Military Council of the Leningrad Front, and the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council of Workers' Deputies. The analysis of Soviet-party governance in Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War, based on a large array of decisions and resolutions of power institutions, including appendices and transcripts, relies on methods of historical informatics. The historiographic review of the Soviet and post-Soviet periods allows for conclusions about extensive references made by researchers to the connection between political governance of the city with numerous economic and social themes. However, within this context, there is a palpable lack of attempts to analyze the stated problem using interdisciplinary methods. In this regard, the scientific novelty of the proposed research lies in the approach to the issue at hand. The article provides thematic narratives on the application of historical informatics methods, including computerized content analysis, machine learning, descriptive statistics, and correlation analysis. The capabilities of these methods represent a relevant tool that allows for progress in addressing some of the general tasks posed. Correlating the research results with historiography will yield a more comprehensive understanding of the state management system in besieged Leningrad.

Keywords: defense, Great Patriotic War, method, resolutions of government authorities, transcript, political administration, data analysis, Leningrad, Military Council, blockade

Abstract: In the article, the author analyzes unknown letters of the papal legate Antonio Possevino (1534–1611) from the collection of the historian – source scholar N.P. Likhachev (1862–1936), which were discovered by the researcher during the study of Russian-Polish documents in the Scientific and Historical Archive of the St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences on January 25, 2024. Antonio Possevino met several times with Ivan the Terrible, trying to convince the ruler to convert from Orthodoxy to Catholicism, to conclude a religious union. The diplomat acted as an intermediary between Ivan the Terrible, Stefan Batory and the Pope. However, for a number of reasons, the mission of the papal envoy was unsuccessful. And although Muscovy lost in the Livonian War, it did not change its original faith. The author used various research methods: analysis, synthesis, adhered to a systematic approach and scientific objectivity, used textual analysis, contextual analysis. Textual analysis helped to understand the worldview of Possevino The letters of the papal envoy presented in the article are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time and were previously not known. The letters help change perceptions of Possevino and his mission, reinterpreting his role in history. The analysis of the sources that we introduce into scientific circulation contributes to the understanding of diplomatic relations between Muscovy and the West in the 16th century. It becomes clear that Muscovy for the papal envoy is a country that is interesting to him. Russia did not seek to advertise its actions in Europe. Evidence of this is that European courts did not feel interest in her, and Possevino, through a familiar bishop, advertised his works. We learn the extra information about Antonio Possevino's personality. The ideological opponent of Ivan the Terrible acquires the features of a living person who is cunning, dodgy and professional. Possevino has a sincere interest (despite the fact that he is an ideological opponent of Ivan the Terrible) in Muscovy, which follows from the nature of these letters. The letters are different in content: in the first more about Posevino's attitude towards Muscovy, in the second about the private religious affairs of the papal legate.

Keywords: historian, archival documents, papal envoy, scientific historical archive, Livonian War, researcher, Antonio Possevino, foreigners about Russia, Ivan the Terrible, diplomacy

Abstract: The article offers comments on two works by Mikhail Gefter, "There will be no Third Millennium" and "Stalin died yesterday." There is a certain agreement between the views of the author and M. J. Gefter regarding the understanding of history and the methodology of history. Several problems that arose when reading these works are discussed: M. Gefter's understanding of history as several local stories with beginnings and endings, different approaches to reconstructing the personalities of Lenin and Stalin, and Gefter's explanation of the logic of the Russian revolution. A methodology for solving these problems is outlined, which involves the analysis of two objects: the first, Gefter, who studies the history of Russia and its heroes (Lenin, Stalin, etc.), and the second object, the author of this article, who analyzes and interprets Gefter's work. Everything is clear to Gefter about Stalin, the leader's life is known in all his deeds, and no definitions other than negative ones can be applied to him. Gefter's attitude to Marx and Lenin is different: he tries to organize a conversation with these historical subjects. From Gefter's point of view, Lenin was close to admitting that there would be no world revolution at all, it could not take place in the form that was expected. The author suggests that Gefter's reconstruction opens up the prospect of resolving the impasse in Russia's development: not revolution, but evolution, not a unitary state, but a federation, thought out and secured by a new social order and law. The last part of the article is a brief historical self–determination of the author. Using the material of personal history and the analysis of the life of Emanuel Swedenborg, he outlines his understanding of history and methodology of history, noting the similarities with the views of Gefter.

Keywords: methodology, mind, evidence, reconstruction, future, the past, time, history, The chiefs, state

Abstract: The article brings attention to the problem of mastering the mineral and raw material potential of the European North of Russia through the lens of understanding the historical experience of researching this territory in the early years of Soviet power – from 1917 to the early 1920s, in the context of addressing state tasks related to the study and practical use of the natural productive forces of the RSFSR. The object of study is the activities of state departments and scientific institutions of the RSFSR aimed at the development of natural resources in the European North. The subject of research is the historical role of science in studying the mineral and raw material resources of the European North of the RSFSR and the significance of the results obtained for further industrial development of the region. The basis of the research consists of documents from the funds of the Russian State Historical Archive, the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, the Central State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation of St. Petersburg, and the St. Petersburg branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, some of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. One of the foundations of the source base of the work consists of published legislative acts that characterize the work of the Soviet government, as well as scientific works by researchers of the North. The methodological basis of the work includes the main principles of modern historical science: historicism and scientific objectivity. The research is based on a systematic approach that allowed for the creation of an objective historical reconstruction of events related to the study of mineral and raw material resources in the European North during the specified time period. Based on the analysis of sources and reliance on methodological approaches, it has been determined that after 1917, the European North was in a zone of special priorities for the government. The need to address state tasks aimed at expanding the mineral and raw material base of the RSFSR to overcome the economic crisis necessitated the wide application of mineral resources from this territory in economic development. This marked the beginning of the intensive activities of scientific institutions (the Geological Committee, the Northern Scientific and Industrial Expedition, the Russian Academy of Sciences), whose main directions became the study of resource potential and its assessment for industrial use. It is concluded that during this period the problem of developing the European North gained national significance, which provided a powerful impetus for its systematic study and industrial development. Familiarity with this historical experience is essential for the implementation of modern plans for the development of the European North of Russia.

Keywords: expedition, geological research, scientist, state plan for electrification, USSR, RSFSR, productive forces, mineral and raw material resources, European North, scientific study