Abstract: The subject of this research is history of parishes in the Pskov-Pechorsky Region related with Seto folk. Historical area of this small Finno-Ugric ethnic group embraces modern territory of the Pechorsky District and south-eastern parts of Estonia. Seto are Orthodox Christians and Russians call them poluvertsi (half-believers). Seto culture is usually seen in isolation from established parish system in the borderland of the Pskov-Pechorsky Region and Estonia. The author of article aims to trace principal changes of Seto church life in conditions of constantly shifting state affiliation and political regimes from late XIX century to present time. The source base of research are press materials, published testimonies of eyewitnesses, documents of the State Archive of Pskov Oblast (GAPO) and information gathered by author in ethnographic expeditions of 2007-2017. The research applies historical-comparative and ethnographic methods. The article reveals involvement of Seto in parish life at different stages of their history. Due to their ignorance of Russian language, they couldn’t participate consciously in church services and were involved in Estonian language environment in the period of their incorporation in the Estonian Republic in 1920-1940s. In Soviet period they insisted on their right for independent “Estonian” parish. Today in Russia Seto are included in Russian-speaking church environment and in Estonia parish life. The article emphasizes the role of parish clergymen in establishment of Seto parishes. It puts in academic researches new data about the Soviet period of the Pskov Eparchy i.e. the practice of bilingual Church services in mixed Russian-Estonian parishes. Finally author comes to conclusion about construction of Seto ethno-confessional identity in dependence of political interests of Russia and Estonia in XX-XXI cc. which eventually influenced their culture.

Keywords: language policy, religious identity, parish life, Orthodox Christianity, Varvarinsky Church, Estonian Republic, Pskov Oblast, Pechorsky District, half-believers, seto

Abstract: The article presents the results of the study of the images of the Ottoman caricature of the initial period of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) from the point of view of the efficiency and effectiveness of the work of the Ottoman military propaganda. Starting with the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. The Ottoman Empire did not win a single war. In many ways, the reason for the defeats of the Ottoman Empire was its technological backwardness from other countries. By the time the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 began, propaganda had already been spread throughout Europe as a purposeful method of fighting against the enemy. Nevertheless, by the beginning of the 1910s, the Ottoman Empire also had propaganda tools and knew how to use them.   Methodologically, the article is based on the tools of imagology, the essence of which is to study the nature, character, purpose and meaning of the image. This approach makes it possible to decode caricature images of Ottoman magazines in more detail. The author examines the issue of efficiency and effectiveness of Ottoman propaganda in coverage through the caricature prism of the initial period of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). The results of the analysis of the cartoons show to what extent the Ottoman propaganda was able to use the mechanisms available to it to mobilize the masses within the country. Special attention is paid to the cartoons of the Balkan Wars from the magazines "Cem" ("Cem") and "Black-eyed" ("Karagöz"), one of the most popular publications of the early 1910s. They allow us to see how the Ottoman visual propaganda was used in the period before the First World War (1914-1918), which remains little studied in Western and Russian Ottoman studies.

Keywords: ottoman caricature, imagology, Karagez, Balkan Wars, political caricature, propaganda, The Ottoman Empire, The First Balkan War, history of cartoons, the Young Turks

Abstract: The article analyzes domestic and Indian scientific publications covering the splits of India's oldest political party, the Indian National Congress, in the first decades after the independence of India. The subject of the study is to highlight the role of the Nehru-Gandhi family of these splits in Russian and Indian historiography. The purpose of the study is to identify the level of scientific coverage of the problem of consolidation of the Indian National Congress Party around Nehru-Gandhi during the splits of the 1940s-1960s. The main method of research has become cultural-anthropological, which involves the study of the positions of the authors of scientific publications in the formulation of the problem and the selection of arguments in defense of their point of view; the relationship of domestic and Indian scientists to the object of research. Despite the fact that the historiography devoted to the activities of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty consists of a huge number of monographs and articles in scientific journals, the degree of elaboration of the topic can be defined as low. To date, most of these works and author's assessments have not been analyzed and generalized. This is the scientific novelty of the work. In addition, it is relevant because the Nehru-Gandhi family and currently holds leading positions in the Indian National Congress. The main conclusion is that, according to experts, the splits of the party are associated with personal qualities and the unified social and political doctrine of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Keywords: Chakravarti Rajagopalacharya, Vallabhbhai Patel, socialists, split, Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, historiography, India, Indian National Congress, Syndicate

Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of one of the urgent problems of childhood - neglect and homelessness. The object of the study is the social policy of the USSR in 1930-1950, within the framework of which the Soviet authorities had to solve this problem and ensure the preservation of the younger generation. The subject of the study is the process of implementing social politics in the Baikal region. In particular, the author touches upon the issues of regulatory and legal support for the fight against homelessness and childhood neglect, highlights the features and difficulties of fighting in wartime. The statistical data on the region in comparison with the all-Union indicators are given, as well as an assessment of the effectiveness of the activities carried out. The article emphasizes the importance of measures of the social policy of the USSR in relation to the problems of neglect and homelessness, however, the lack of consistency in the implementation of these measures, as well as the existence of problems related to the financing of children's institutions, is noted. The novelty of the research lies in bringing as a source base a wide range of unpublished materials, including archival documents, sources of personal origin, periodicals and statistics. The author comes to the conclusion that social policy in relation to childhood was not implemented effectively enough, despite the fact that it was based on ideological principles that united the population in the fight against common problems.

Keywords: foster family, guardianship, Republic of Buryatia, Irkutsk region, social policy, neglect, homelessness, childhood, Baikal region, patronage

Abstract: The article is devoted to the large—circulation newspaper "Soviet Physicist" (now — "Kurchatov") of the I. V. Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy (now - SIC "Kurchatov Institute"). Having your own newspaper in a secret scientific institution is a special phenomenon. For a long time, it was printed with a note about the prohibition of removal from the territory. The newspaper was distributed only to employees. Based on archival materials of the SIC "Kurchatov Institute" and the Central State Administration of Moscow, the history of the newspaper is traced from its inception in 1967 to its renaming in 1992. The multi-circulation newspaper was created on the initiative of the Institute's staff.   The general management of it was carried out by the party committee and the local committee of the institute. The pages of the "Soviet Physicist" reflect the life of the "Kurchatov" community in all its diversity. The article introduces a new historical source into scientific circulation and examines its informational potential for research on the history of the Soviet atomic project in general, as well as the main aspects of the life of the Institute's staff community in particular. The newspaper's materials are valuable for the study of social, cultural, political and scientific events and phenomena in the history of the I. V. Kurchatov Institute – the leading Soviet scientific center for nuclear physics.

Keywords: Soviet physicist, IAE, Kurchatov Institute, periodical printing, historical source, content analysis, high-circulation, history, newspaper, source studies

Abstract: The article examines the formation of one of the foreign policy doctrines of expansionism, which became the main instrument of US foreign policy in the twentieth century. The theory of "open doors", the essence of which is to provide equal opportunities to all interested parties on the basis of unlimited economic freedom and unhindered penetration of capital, was proclaimed by Secretary of State J. Hay in 1899 in relation with China, which was considered as a potential market for the sale of industrial goods and a profitable object of capital investment. Having opposed the division of China by the European powers, the American ruling elites proposed to replace individual control over individual parts of the country, according to the concluded agreements on "spheres of influence", with the establishment of a collective system of external supervision over its entire territory. By putting external expansion in the form of international agreement, they wanted to force competitors stronger in military and political terms to play by the proposed rules, transferring power rivalry to the trade and economic area, where their commercial superiority was undoubted. The nationalist movement of the Yihetuans, which began in the autumn of 1898, aimed at expelling foreigners out of the country, jeopardized the idea of implementing the doctrine of "open doors". After much thought, the White House abandoned the widely disseminated peacefulness and approved the participation of the expeditionary force in the joint intervention of European powers in China. Interference in the internal political affairs of a formally sovereign state meant that the United States was involved in its violent redistribution. Later, Washington continued to follow its course around the world, creating an arsenal of new political and economic methods, officially formalized as a generally accepted international principle in the 1922 treaty of the Nine Powers.

Keywords: Edna Chaffee, alliance of eight nations, Edwin Conger, ihetuan movement, William Rockhill, the open door doctrine, John Hay, William McKinley, informal empire, colonialism

Abstract: For Muslims, the early history of Islam is an important part of the religious meta-narrative. A special place in this story is occupied by the life and reign of Umar ibn al-Khattab, who is revered in Sunni historiography as the second righteous Caliph. The article analyzes the place of Umar ibn al-Khattab in the collective memory of Muslims in Russia. The work is based on the analysis of such sources as Russian-language theological literature, the 2012 TV series "Umar ibn-al Khattab", mentions in Russian-language media, statistics of Internet search queries based on the Google Trends tool, as well as the results of a survey of Muslims of Bashkortostan dedicated to cultural memory. The article is based on the hermeneutical method, quantitative analysis, and questioning of believers. For Islam, the biographies of companions are an important part of hagiography. The biographies of the companions are sinless, the actions are justified, the Muslims of the first centuries appear to be an ideal society. The results demonstrate that Umar ibn al-Khattab is the most interesting "place of memory" for believers among the companions of the Prophet Muhammad. The figure and narratives of Umar's rule are a space for the self–identification of Muslim believers for the whole world and Russia in particular, and his image is the basis for instrumentalization in the public life of the Muslim community. This is especially true of such aspects as power, law and relations with other faiths.

Keywords: muslim hagiography, history of islam, history of religion, Muslims of Bashkortostan, Muslims of Russia, cultural memory of Muslims, early islam, companions of Muhammad, history of the caliphate, Umar ibn al-Khattab

Abstract: The object of consideration is the government of Russia during the Russian-Japanese War, the subject is the activity of the government in Russia in the field of business communication during the war. The purpose of the study is to trace the main trends in optimizing the activities of the Russian government system in the field of business communication in 1904-1905 based on archival documents. A number of tasks are being solved to achieve the goal. To analyze the innovations developed by the government system, represented by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to optimize business communication in 1904-1905. To study how these innovations were implemented in a particular region – Kaluga Province. To consider the results of the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the provincial authorities in optimizing business communication in 1904-1905. The novelty of the study is as follows. The question is raised about how the Russian government system reacted to the complicated situation of 1904-1905. The emphasis is placed on the consideration of optimization attempts in the field of business communication. This problem is considered at two levels: the All–Russian – Ministry of Internal Affairs and the regional - Kaluga province. It is concluded that the leading circles of Russia in 1904-1905 tried to make changes in the field of government. There are two groups of innovations: an attempt to optimize the form of business communication and an attempt to organize cost savings in the process of business communication. Innovations spread from the center to places and took root slowly. The "correspondence on the reduction of correspondence" "survived" the war, "caught" three interior ministers, and there was no guarantee that the innovations had fully taken root. Belated changes failed to increase the efficiency of governance so much that the empire was able to gain the upper hand in the conflict in the Far East and avoid revolution.

Keywords: government, The Russian Empire, Russian-Japanese War, revolution, provinces, Russian history, Kaluga Province, optimization, business communication, authorities

Abstract: S.E. Desnitsky's views on public administration occupy a special place in the history of managerial thought in Russia of the XVIII century. This place is determined by the fact that, unlike all those who wrote on management topics in that era, he was not an official. He was an observer and an expert, which gave him the opportunity to system analyze and develop a set of proposals for improving governance in Russia. The subject of the article is the set of views of S.E. Desnitsky, designated here as the "management concept". The purpose of the study is to identify the basic elements of this concept. The reference method is a combination of systematic and semantic analysis of Desnitsky's texts, in comparison with the texts of figures of the European Enlightenment. The main conclusion of the article is the complex of semantic blocks identified by the author, the combination of which makes up Desnitsky's management concept. The author comes to the conclusion that Desnitsky saw the purpose of management in introducing organizational principles into "natural" relations and, first of all, into property relations. Desnitsky supplemented the universal principle of the "common good" with the principles of the welfare of the state and estate management. To solve management problems, he proposed to follow two organizational principles: separation of powers and multi-level management. For each of the "authorities" allocated to him, he defined tasks peculiar only to her and the tools necessary for their solution. The preservation of the unity of governance in the state, according to Desnitsky, is achieved by highlighting the law as the main instrument of governance.

Keywords: the common good, XVIII century, Desnitsky, European Enlightenment, history of managerial thought, history of political thought, Catherine II, management concepts, history of Russia, history of public administration

Abstract: The object of the study is the history of the relationship between state power and statistical science in the Russian Empire in the second half of the XVIII – first half of the XIX centuries. The author examines the practices of censorship supervision over the publication of research papers in the field of state studies – an early descriptive direction of statistical science. The article analyzes the main stages of the development of legislation in the field of the civil press and highlights the key claims that the censorship authorities had against the authors of statistical works. Special attention is paid to the study of the social and political context in which the evolution of censorship restrictions on the dissemination of statistical data took place. It is noted that the tacit ban on the publication of any statistical information, which existed in the middle of the XVIII century, was replaced by the liberalization of censorship legislation at the beginning of the Alexander reign. In the future, with the formation of statistics-state studies as a political science, the attention of the state to the content of these works became more and more intense. The growth of conservative tendencies in domestic politics led to the fact that the government increasingly suppressed the free interpretation of statistical materials. The formation of the institution of departmental censorship in the mid-1820s gave rise to the problem of the plurality of censorship authorities, which became a serious barrier to the development of state studies. It is concluded that a broad interpretation of the norms of censorship statutes made it possible for interested ministries to delay the publication of statistical works for a long time, or not to allow them to be printed at all under the pretext of inaccuracy or secrecy of data.

Keywords: Russian Geographical Society, St. Petersburg Censorship Committee, The Main Board of schools, Dmitry Petrovich Zhuravsky, Evdokim Filippovich Zyablovsky, Konstantin Ivanovich Arsenyev, Karl Fedorovich Herman, history of statistics, history of censorship, science and power